BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



71 



In a climate so mild that birds breed nearly all the 

 year round, it is little wonder if birds which are in 

 England the commonest and hardiest of their 

 tribe have increased with a rapidity unknown in 

 the homeland. The house-sparrow, yellowhammer, 

 and greenfinch have accordingly been indicted as 

 a nuisance in the South Island, and some difference 

 of opinion obtains as to the rate of wage drawn by 

 the thrush, blackbird, and skylark. Yet even the 

 sparrow has his defenders in Sir Walter Buller, 

 well-known as a writer on New Zealand ornithology, 

 and Mr. Travers. It is a little curious that no 

 complaints appear to be made against the starling 

 in that fruit-growing country. 



A fruit-grower at Shannon, New Zealand, writes 

 to the R.S.P.B. Hon. Local Secretary for Romford, 

 Essex : — 



" Being a large fruit farmer, I have studied which 

 birds are my friends and which my enemies. Our 

 Government has imported from England the 

 domestic sparrow, the greatest pest of all ; also the 

 yellowhammer, greenfinch, goldfinch, skylark, 

 blackbird, thrush, and starling. The starling is the 

 most useful bird in New Zealand. In this district 

 we have a grass grub over an inch long, with a 

 brown head, which is very destructive, attacking 

 the roots of the grass, more especially the cocks- 

 foot, and eating it off level with the ground. On 

 hilly land, where you cannot cultivate, the damage 

 done is serious. When the starlings came they 

 seemed to realise the farmers' trouble, and set to 

 work to help us out of it by attacking these grubs ; 

 so they wax fat and rid us of one of our worst 

 pests. I have seen the ground black with them, 

 but have never seen one settle on a fruit-tree yet ; 

 they never come into the orchard. You will often 

 see them settle down on a flock of sheep and eat 

 the ticks out of the wool, and the sheep know their 

 friends. The goldfinch also eats no fruit, but goes 

 for the seeds of thistles and other weeds. The 

 blackbird and thrush destroy me a good many 

 apples, etc., but I will not have them hurt, as I 

 consider they only take a fair wage for the work 

 they do." 



A Society for the Protection of Birds would be 

 very useful in New Zealand, both to watch the case 

 on their behalf, and also to gather evidence and 

 circulate trustworthy information. 



Lecturing on " Friends and foes of the garden ' ; 

 before the Hunsdonbury Horticultural Society, 

 Mr. F. Heath, of Presdales Gardens, said that 

 through misunderstanding on this subject many 

 feathered friends were cast aside. He spoke 

 favourably of blackbirds, thrushes, and starlings as 

 insect devourers, but considered the best friends of 

 the gardener were the robins, wrens, hedge-spar* 

 rows, wagtails, pewits, swallows, and owls. 



NOTES. 

 The Pole Trap. 



Landed proprietors and tenants of estates will 

 do well to see that the Bird Protection Act of 1904, 

 commonly known as the Pole Trap Act, is complied 

 with on their land. There is little doubt that many 

 gamekeepers have a strong tendency to evade it ; 

 and it is not easy for outsiders to know what is 

 done on private property. But landowners maybe 

 credited with a less limited outlook than keepers 

 enjoy, as well as the Englishman's respect for law 

 and the sportsman's claim to humanity. They 

 usually know how to deal with poachers ; and, after 

 all, there is no reason why the keeper should be 

 allowed to break laws any more than the poacher. 

 A pole trap is defined as "any spring, trap, gin, or 

 similar instrument calculated to cause bodily injury 

 to any wild bird coming in contact therewith," and 

 it may not be affixed, set, or placed on " any pole, 

 tree, or cairn (Angh'ce, heap) of stones or earth." 



Caution to Keepers. 



In all cases where knowledge or rumour of the 

 use of the pole trap reaches the Society a letter is 

 invariably sent to the landowner. As an example 

 of courteous response, made even where the rumour 

 appears to have been mistaken, may be quoted the 

 following letter from the Ashton Court Estate 

 Office, near Bristol, in answer to a communication 

 sent to Lady Smyth : — 



" I am not aware that the pole trap is used on 

 this estate by any of our keepers ; if so, it is con- 

 trary to Lady Smyth's express wish, and it may 

 interest you to see a copy of a circular letter I have 

 to-day written to all our keepers." 



(Enclosure.) 

 "Dear Sir, — I wish particularly to caution ) ou 

 that no pole trap must be used on any account on 

 this estate. It is contrary to law, and also contrary 

 to Lady Smyth's and my own frequently expressed 

 wish. " Yours faithfully, 



" H. B. Napier." 



Candles as Building Material. 



Apropos of the efforts which are being made to 

 preserve the gannets of Lundy Island and of the 

 Bass Rock, an interesting account of another breed- 

 ing place of the species comes (April, 1905) from 

 Mrs. Mashiter, whose father formerly tenanted an 

 island off the Welsh coast that includes in its 

 domain a desolate and solitary rock where the one 

 little colony of Welsh gannets breed. The rock 

 is ten miles from land, and in older times was 

 thus safely out of the reach of collectors : even in 



