1^ ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 



found for many years such abundance of food and 

 shelter in these islands that they have made our country 

 a permanent home. In face of this plentiful food supply, 

 however, it seems somewhat strange that wood pigeons 

 have all but ceased to leave Northern Europe for the 

 comfortable winter and spring quarters of Great Britain. 

 Perhaps they know that we always have a largely 

 superabundant stock of their fellows ! They are lovely, 

 peaceable birds, and there is ever a charm in hearing 

 them repeat their " wood notes wild " amid the stillness 

 of the forest ; but romance and sentiment are apt to fly 

 off when we think of their insatiability as to food, and 

 of their capacity for devouring such vast quantities of 

 it. I have seen as many milk-green oat-pickles taken 

 from the stomach of a wood pigeon, shot while feeding, 

 as v/ould have filled a moderate sized breakfast cup ; and 

 the bird, of course, had a feed similar to this several 

 times a day. The country is doubtless very largely 

 overstocked with wood pigeons. They do great damage 

 to our crops, both from what they eat and what they 

 destroy. Any good the}^ do is infinitesimal, the mere 

 picking up of a few caterpillars. 



The Missel Thrush, during these years, has main- 

 tained its numbers pretty equally. It is a very bold 

 bird, as you know. Some years ago, I came on one 

 sitting on eggs, when I quietly put my walking stick 

 before it. In place of flying off, it kept its nest, and 

 struck the stick several times with its beak. It showed 

 no sign of fear. 



The Blackbird has also maintained its numbers, 

 perhaps increased, of recent years. I have observed a 

 difference in the notes of the blackbird in different 

 districts, or rather, I should say, in the articulation of 

 the notes. For instance, there is a difference (not much, 

 however) in the articulation of the song- of the blackbird 



