[To vas EDITOR 01 THE " SPECTATOS."]
am very thankful that something definite is being done now in the noble effort to save at least some of our rare and beautiful feathered friends, and I enclose a small donation, which I shall be grateful if you will send to the right quarters. I wish my funds admitted of its being larger, but perhaps it may encourage others to give of their abundance.
The exquisite little kingfisher which used to flash so bril liantly across our waters seems to be now almost extinct. A gamekeeper told me some years ago that he had found a kingfisher's nest with young, and when I delightedly expressed a desire to see it he said : " Oh, I squashed the lot with a stone because they would be taking the fish." Near by I spied a pretty water bird caught and maimed in a trap, fluttering in agony. I spoke very strongly to the man, but he did not care. I made him, however, come and wring its neck to put it out of pain.
In many far-off regions, where the humming bird and other graceful creatures used to fill the air with life, there is now a death-like stillness; but among the more remote islands of far Fiji the tropical bird still sails majestically, and nothing in all my travels has left a stronger impression than this beautiful creature reflected in the quiet waters, and with a gleam of radiant life relieving the utter solitude. The Fijians have a religious veneration for this bird, and will not destroy it. Though of course mischievous and rapidly increasing birds must be kept under, mercifully, surely we too may bring our religion wisely to bear on the whole question when our Bible tells us that " not one of them is forgotten before God."
I think a reprint of Mr. H. J. Massingham's article would be very valuable in leaflet form, and I should be very glad to distribute some.—I am, Sir, &c., AGNES GARDNER KING. Hartwell, Wroxham, Norwich.
Previous page
