16 SEPTEMBER 1949, Page 18

The Bird Trust It is not necessary to belong to

any society in order to extract pleasure and knowledge from the observation of birds ; but the latest report of the excellently organised British Trust for Ornithology (with the Zoo, Regent's Park, as address) does show how much interest may be added by the expert. To my taste no details are more interesting than the records of the ringers. What strange journeys even our so-called non- migratory birds are liable to make. Blackbirds delight in journeys to France. A teal from the ingenious decoy at Abbotsbury in Dorset was recorded in Portuguese West Africa. Gulls and plover have flown the Atlantic. The migration maps would make an admirable adornment to any school and give zest to any geography lesson. Apart from migration, there are a score of minor points that would add new interest to any observer, even of garden birds.