British Bird Life. 
(148) THE BIRD WORLD. 
British Bird Life. 
A Plea for Preservation. 
In a country which prides itself on a 
certain appreciation of nature and the 
country-side, the attitude of the English 
people towards its birds presents a 
paradox. It is a common enough thing 
to meet people who describe the plea¬ 
sure they have received from natural 
scenery and landscape, and who ex¬ 
press their disgust in the liveliest terms 
for the jerry-builder or the railway com¬ 
pany that outrages a favourite prospect, 
and yet not one in fifty of these so-called 
nature-lovers cares anything for the 
birds, nor would raise a finger to pre¬ 
vent the extermination which is taking 
place among them. To convince this 
class of persons, says the Sussex Daily 
News, how much the charm of an 
English woodland depends on its bird 
life, a journey should be taken through 
France or Germany, where the true 
meaning of Brownings:—“ Oh to be in 
England now that April’s there,” will be 
readily apparent. 
I have heard it said that France was 
formerly the wealthiest bird country in 
Europe, and that its present state is a 
warning and a prophecy of what still 
happen here if our present indifference 
continues. 
“ Bird's-nesting.”—A Contrast. 
Many of us have, in our younger days, 
taken an interest in birds’ eggs. We 
may not have aspired to the dignity of a 
cabinet, nor been very clear about the 
distinction between a Thrush’s and a 
Blackbird’s song, but we have, no doubt, 
shinned ” up more than one tree, and 
swayed to and fro in the wind, looking 
at the nest of a Crow or Hawk. There 
are few, however, who get beyond this 
embryonic stage and take a really in¬ 
telligent interest in this most entrancing 
subject, which takes one into the heart 
of the country at the most beautiful time 
of the year, and adds another interest to 
the meadows and lanes and primrosed 
woods. The ornithologist is generally re¬ 
garded by those who know nothing of the 
subject with a superior scorn, and his 
“ bird’s-nesting ” put down as childish. 
Perhaps the reason is not far to seek, 
for ruined nests and broken eggs prove 
only too clearly that bird’s-nesting, in the 
usual acceptance of the term, is not only 
childish, but brutal. With the expert 
the word has a far different meaning, 
for though he may not be able to resist 
the temptation of making a collection, 
he is too fond of the birds to take more 
than a single egg, while the bloodless 
form of sport introduced by the Brothers 
Kearton, is causing many a collection 
to consist entirely of photographs. 
Disappearing Species. 
The feelings of such a man towards 
the wholesale robber and the wholesale 
dealer may be compared with those of 
a member of the Alpine Club towards 
the flood of Cockneyism which every 
summer deluges Switzerland. But the 
bird-man’s complaint is the more reason¬ 
able, for, in spite of cable and cog¬ 
wheel railways, there will always be 
peaks and snowfields far removed from 
the ravening hand of man, and only to 
be attained by long and arduous labour. 
The birds, on the other hand, are at the 
mercy of everyone. The pure love of 
destruction which seems to be the lead¬ 
ing feature of village boys, and the crass 
ignorance of gamekeepers who think 
any big bird must needs have designs on 
their pheasants, are causing many a 
fine species to disappear. Surely it is a 
pitiful thing when a rarity is unable to 
continue its race, because its eggs are 
suitable objects for hop-scotch, or be¬ 
cause a lout with a gun is pleased to 
regard it as “vermin.” Of what avail 
are the. miserable efforts of Parliament 
in this direction ? An Act is passed 
specifying certain birds which must not 
be interfered with. Most of the birds 
