Chirps and 
Chatter. 
(216) THE BIRD WORLD. 
A Foster’s Devotion. 
Many shooting men are still far too 
often inclined to let go at a Hawk-—not 
seldom even at the harmless and orna¬ 
mental Kestrel—whenever one gets up 
or approaches too closely during a day’s 
shooting. In a contemporary recently 
a melancholy instance was related of 
this unfortunate and unnecessary habit. 
A gunner saw a bird get up, which he 
believed to be a Hawk; he fired, and 
down came the bird, which proved to 
be nothing more harmful than a 
Cuckoo—a young bird of the year. 
When the victim fell, a small bird, 
believed to have been a Meadow-Pipit, 
darted to the side of the dead Cuckoo, 
and remained with it until it was picked 
up. This was the foster-parent, whose 
devotion to its nursling was stronger 
even than its natural fear of mankind. 
It is a touching little story, well illus¬ 
trating this unfortunate tendency always 
to “ have a blaze ” at a Hawk or Falcon. 
The nest of the Meadow-Pipit is, by 
the way, one of those most commonly 
affected by the Cuckoo when it wishes 
to deposit its eggs. The Pied Wag¬ 
tail is another foster-parent very fre¬ 
quently victimised) as also are the 
Hedge-Sparrow and Reed-Warbler. But 
very many other birds are made, nolens- 
volens, the unconscious nurses of the 
infant Cuckoo, including occasionally 
even such dangerous foster-parents as 
the Jay, Magpie, and Red-backed 
Shrike. 
The Protection of Sea Birds. 
Lecturing recently at the New Gallery 
Photographic Exhibition on the subject 
of bird photography, Mr. W. Farren 
said that many of the rarer British sea 
birds, notably the Sandwich Tern and 
the Eider Duck, at one time threatened 
with extinction, owing to the raids of 
the sportsman and the collector, were 
now increasing at a great rate. Rigorous 
methods have been adopted for their 
protection on the Faroe Islands, their 
main nesting haunt, and watchmen have 
been appointed, of whom the chief is 
Robert Darling, the nephew of Grace 
Darling. 
Hawking with Kites. 
Notwithstanding the splendour of its 
flight and its size—it measures 25 in. in 
length as against the 15 in. to 18 in. of 
the Peregrine Falcon—the Kite pos¬ 
sesses nothing like the courage of some 
of the lesser birds of prey. In India 
Kites are occasionally flown at with the 
Saker Falcon, and afford very fine sport. 
The Saker has a quicker upward flight, 
and, notwithstanding the strenuous 
efforts of the Kite, will, if in good con¬ 
dition, manage to beat it. If the Kite 
had the courage of its size, it would 
offer much more determined resistance 
than it does to its more diminutive but 
highly-mettled assailant. But to kill 
a Kite the Saker must be in excellent 
feather and in tip-top condition. Indian 
native falconers rather neglect this 
principle, and as they are well aware 
that even Falcons will not fly at a 
Kite unless very sharp-set, they physic 
them with sal ammoniac or some other 
drug, and thus render them unnaturally 
hungry. The wild jungle Kites, of 
course, offer much finer flights than 
their soft and degenerate brethren of 
the towns and villages. 
Its Distribution. 
Our English Kite, by the way, has a 
wide distribution, and is found over 
most of Europe, as far as Palestine and 
Asia Minor. It is well known in North 
Africa and the adjacent Atlantic Islands. 
In Scotland, where the bird is still 
found, and, I believe, occasionally 
breeds, many a Kite has been sacrificed 
for the reason that its tail feathers are 
much valued by fishermen for making 
flies. This bird is now so rare in 
Britain that one may surely appeal to 
landowners, intelligent keepers, and 
fisher-folk to spare one of the most strik¬ 
ing of our raptorials. After all, there 
are plenty of Kites abroad, and dealers 
can have no possible difficulty in obtain¬ 
ing the necessary feathering for fishing 
flies from foreign-bred specimens. Of 
late increased interest has been aroused 
in this old-fashioned sport, and the Kite 
is receiving greater attention than in 
recent years. 
