Country Life
BY IAN NIALL NEARLY every common bird has enemies of some sort and, most of them, its friends. There are rook shooters, and rook protectors who would never allow their rookeries to be dis- turbed, just as there are admirers of the bull- finch and those who, immediately they see it within half a mile of a fruit tree, reach for a garden gun. Starlings which foul the buildings on which they roost in town have their enemies among foresters too. They might be more welcome if they roosted exclusively in reed beds or ruins, but this is not their way. At the same time, cultivators of land are pleased to see them picking over ground and clearing it of countless pests. In my part of the world opinions are divided about the buzzard, whose enemies are finally prevailing to have it out- lawed, although it cannot be said to have in- creased this year or last. It is accused, and not for the first time, of turning its attention to chickens, but it also does good work in killing voles and other small things that are the enemies of the farmer.
Previous page
