Naturalisation Experiments
Some people object to all efforts at naturalisation ; and there are some grim examples of the harm that may be done. The rabbit and fox in Australia and the grey squirrel in Britain are standard examples. But, after all, the pheasant is an imported bird ; and there is no reason why other birds of a like kidney should not settle down here. Experiments in this direction were regarded at the time of its foundation as the proper work of the Royal Zoological Society ; and its members had the highest hopes of the introduction of the guinea fowl. It was introduced to be a member of the wild community not of the farmyard ; and here and there some are still kept in the woods, where they are alleged to teach the pheasants home-keeping qualities. A bird that might flourish is the bustard, or, as some place-names indicate, the gustard. I have seen both the guinea fowl and the wild turkey on the wing in and about pheasant coverts in Surrey, not so far from London, and it was amusing to watch the discomfiture of sportsmen who had not been forewarned that such targets were likely to be presented. A large flock of guinea fowl happily and safely resolved the sportsmen's doubts by flying up into the branches of a high tree, from which all efforts of the beaters failed to expel them.
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