THE COMMON SPARROW

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 66, 25 September 1939, Page 6

THE COMMON SPARROW

ft RE AT SERVICE TO NEW ZEALAND

The decision of one of, the Canterbury County Councils to pay 3d a dozen for eggs of .small birds which were alleged to be injurious to crops, was discussed at a recent meeting es the executive of the Forest and Bird Protection; Society. It was mentioned that there was division of opinion, among Canterbury farmers, many of whom believed firmly that the birds in question did much more harm than good. Mr B. C. Aston declared emphatically that in the North Island the sparrow was unquestionably a beneficial bird. The great service of the sparrow to New Zealand is well set out in "The Animals of New Zealand'' (the standard work of F. W. Hutton, and James Dvummond).

"The cultivation of cabbages, cauli-> flowers, turnips and other succulent plants was followed by an alarming increase in the numbers of native insects/' they state. "Armies of caterpillars invaded the fields and con- 1 sumed the crops. It was hardly possible to open a pea-pod without finding a caterpillar inside; and, in the Auckland district, dismayed settlers saAV fields' of maize under bare poles, not a leaf remaining. The food supply of the insects had been increased enormously, and they were not slow to respond.

"It was decided that the best plan to adopt, to make agriculture and horticulture possible, was to introduce insect-oating birds. But it was recognised that these birds must not live on insects alone. There is no

winter retreat for insect-eaters in New Zealand, as there is in Europe? and if they could not sustain them-' selves on vegetable food in the winter months, when the insects were 1 absent they wculd perish. The field of selection Avas therefore restricted to birds which would eat both seeds and insccts_ which would not try to migrate, and which Mould become common. One of the first to be introduced was the sparrow. "The sparrow certainly checked the increase of the insects. Without the sparrow, or some other bird equally common, the dominion would be over run Avitli the insects again, and life would be unsupportable. No exception is taken to the means, of destruction now adopted, as they merely lessen the numbers of the sparrows. But it cannot be admitted that the introduction of this bird was one of the mistakes in acclimatisation. Those who urge that the sparrow ought to be banished should name a substitute. ; v The persons" who wage war on the sparrow have not apparently given a thought to a substitute. It is contended that unless a satisfactory substitute is found, the persecutors will be pleased to become friends rather than cnefmics of a bird which takes tremendous toll of destructive insects.