. Birds in town & village, by . is extremely unlikely; whether we intro-duce exotic birds or not, the only losses we shallhave to deplore in the future will, like those ofthe past, be directly due to our own insensateaction in slaying every rare and beautiful thingwith powder and shot. From the introductionof exotic species nothing is to be feared, but muchto be hoped. There is another point which should not beoverlooked. It has after all become a mere fic-tion to say that all places are occupied. Naturesnice order has been destroyed, and her kingdomthrown into the utmost confusi
. Birds in town & village, by . is extremely unlikely; whether we intro-duce exotic birds or not, the only losses we shallhave to deplore in the future will, like those ofthe past, be directly due to our own insensateaction in slaying every rare and beautiful thingwith powder and shot. From the introductionof exotic species nothing is to be feared, but muchto be hoped. There is another point which should not beoverlooked. It has after all become a mere fic-tion to say that all places are occupied. Naturesnice order has been destroyed, and her kingdomthrown into the utmost confusion; our actiontends to maintain the disorderly condition, whileshe is perpetually working against us to re-estab-lish order. When she multiplies some common,little-regarded species to occupy a space leftvacant by an artificially exterminated kind, thespecies called in as a mere stop-gap, as it were,is one not specially adapted in structure and in-stincts to a particular mode of life, and conse-quently cannot fully and effectually occupy the. HERON. , . , the streams are fished by herons. EXOTIC BIRDS FOR BRITAIN 175 ground into which it has been permitted to speak in metaphor, it enters merely as a care-taker or ignorant and improvident steward in theabsence of the rightful owner. Again, some ofour ornamental species, which are fast diminish-ing, are fitted from their peculiar structure andlife habits to occupy places in nature which noother kinds, however plastic they may be, caneven partially fill. The wryneck and the wood-pecker may be mentioned; and a still better in-stance is afforded by the small, gem-like kingfisher—the only British bird which can properly bedescribed as gem-like. When the goldfinch goes—and we know that he is going rapidly—othercoarser fringilline birds, without the melody,brightness, and charm of the goldfinch—sparrowand bunting—come in, and in some rough fashionsupply its place; but when the kingfisher disap-pears an important place
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1920
