NATURE NOTES 
1 66 
In the second place, Mr. Webb alluded to the protection of 
birds at home, and while recognizing that this should not be 
done in too hard and fast a w'ay, he urged that whatever is 
intended should be effectively carried out. The bird-lover may 
require too much sacrifice on the part of agriculturists or 
horticulturists. The latter, and even the preserver of game, 
may do themselves harm by the thoughtless slaughter of birds 
whose habits they have not taken the trouble to learn. 
It is well worth while, from a practical as well as an aesthetic 
point of view, to encourage certain birds to breed, and near 
large towns we are glad to see almost any of them. In con- 
clusion, Mr. Webb gave an illustrated account of the Bird 
Sanctuary which is successfully being carried on under the 
auspices of the Brent Valley and Richmond Branch of the 
Selborne Society not far from Ealing. 
The Destruction of Lapw’ings. — Mr. James Buckland, one 
of our members, who originated the Plumage Bill now in 
progress, writes as follows : — 
“A time like the present, when the subject of prohibiting the importation of 
the plumage of foreign birds is so much in the air, seems a fitting occasion to 
call attention to the necessity for some action to be taken to stop the export of 
our own wild birds. These thoughts are suggested by the fact that recently 
there were piled in one cold-storage house in Jersey City, New Jersey, 18,000 
lapwings which had been imported from this country, it being the practice in the 
United States to use these birds for food in the hotels and restaurants of the 
large cities. All those who have studied the subject of birds in relation to man 
are agreed on the great value of the lapwing to agriculture. For this reason the 
above figures are most disturbing, for if this wholesale slaughter is permitted to 
go on the lapwing will be exterminated before any great length of time. Luxury 
ought not to be obtained at a loss to the public economy, and therefore legisla- 
tion should be invoked to prohibit their export. It is a great pity that an 
international agreement cannot be entered into between the leading countries 
of the world regarding the inter-country traffic in the plumage and bodies of 
wild birds. But the time for that ideal state of bird preservation is not yet. 
In the meantime we might easily pass a law to prevent the export of our own 
wild birds. America has done so, and, moreover, enforces such law. In any 
case, if we do not take some prompt measures to prohibit the export of lapwings 
we shall soon have none left.” 
The Jabiru Stork. — We take the following from the Field, 
May 9 
“ During the past six or eight years there has been a regrettable demand for 
the wing- and tail-feathers of the South and Central American jabiru stork for 
the decoration of ladies’ hats. The result has been to cause a serious diminution 
in the numbers of these handsome and useful birds, and the desertion of former 
haunts by the survivors, which frequent the open Savanna country bordering the 
marshes and shallow-water lagoons in Venezuela, Guiana, and Brazil. Among 
the European population of Venezuela the jabiru is known by the name of 
“garson soldado,” from the military appearance presented by a flock of these 
birds when marching in line. It is to be hoped that some legislation may be 
brought about, as in the case of the white egrets, to put a stop to the wanton 
destruction that is reported of the useful and inoffensive jabiru.” 
Fish-hooks for Birds. — Sir Frederick Banbury, M.P., 
introduced a short Bill amending the Wild Birds Protection 
