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Rev. J. R. Lowe—Goshawk and other Birds



terrifying storms, seeming to fly just beneath the cap of the waves,

and one expects every moment to see them swamped, but such an

occurrence never seems to happen. Spending nearly all their time on

the watery wastes of the world, one would think that Man would be of

little account in the lives of these birds and yet probably no family of

birds has suffered so much at the hand of Man as the Petrels have and

their history as far as Man is concerned is one of extermination. Most

species nest in burrows on small islands and as soon as these islands

were occupied by Man the young Petrels were used to augment the

daily bill of fare. Not only that, but in the West Indies, Australia,

New Zealand, and South America, great quantities of these birds in

the nestling stage were, and still are, collected and preserved for food.

Hence many species, especially the West Indian ones, have been

exterminated and others reduced to a remnant, for in the ordinary

course of events petrels had few enemies and were consequently slow

breeders, most birds producing one young one each year, and at the

most two, so that most species were not able to stand the continued

drain on their numerical strength. The food of the Storm Petrels

consists of minute crustaceans which the birds pick up while on the

wing from the surface of the ocean.



GOSHAWK AND OTHER BIRDS


By The Rev. J. R. Lowe


Encouraged by the interesting notes by Mr. A. C. Furner in this

January number of the Magazine, I have dared to send a few dis¬

connected items of news from my own very humble collection.


The photograph is of an eyass female Goshawk, Brunehilde by

name. She came over to me from Germany about the middle of

August, and as she came by air mail, arrived in very perfect condition.

She was very wild and nervous at first, but constant carrying and

infinite patience gradually got on the right side of a dreadfully tiresome

temperament. I began training her for work early in September, and

on 7th October she took her first wild rabbit. Since then till now,

4th January, her bag is two hares, one weighing 8 lb., and twenty-

three rabbits. She would have taken a great many more rabbits if



