ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 15 



later an alteration in the weather, bearing very cold, 

 stormy wind from the sea, forced the birds to leave 

 their seaside firs and take up more sheltered quarters. 

 This they did by simply invading my friend's shrubs 

 and bushes all around his house. This lasted for a few 

 nights, until, in self defence, he had to drive off the 

 birds, which was done by firing blank cartridges near 

 the shrubs. The shrubs were receiving injury from the 

 absolute load of birds they had to bear, and the air in 

 and around the shrubbery had become less or more 

 tainted, hence the necessity of having the birds driven 

 off. The cause of the great increase in the number of 

 starlings of recent years has been guessed at by some 

 ornithologists, but that cause, it appears to me, takes 

 the nature as yet of an unsolved problem. 



Larks and Starlings. — It has been, and still is, a 

 matter of common talk with a considerable number of 

 observers of a kind, that the starling has for years so 

 encroached on the natural grounds of the lark that the 

 latter has of necessit}^ had to desert its old haunts and 

 take to other habitations, or perish. This, however, 

 seems to be a statement only, for, so far as I at least 

 am aware, no authentic information has been produced 

 proving the accuracy of such a statement. -No doubt, 

 since starlings have become so numerous in many districts, 

 larks have fallen sadly off in number in some of these 

 districts ; but, as I have just said, we cannot prove that 

 the decrease in their number has been caused by the 

 presence or movements of the starlings, usurpers though 

 thej^ may seem to some people. Judging from my own 

 observation, I may state that I do not think that the 

 present scarcity of larks in districts where they used to 

 be numerous has by any means been caused altogether 

 by the presence, however numerous, of starlings in 

 these districts. 



Great changes in the movements and habitation of 



