LITTLE GREY OWL

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 33, 9 February 1933, Page 5

LITTLE GREY OWL

SOUTH ISLAND MENACE

j Although.the menace of the little grey [ owl ■to the small native birds of. New Zealand is fully recognised by the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, that body is not_ in p. position to grant royalties for their capture. . At last night's, meeting of the society a letter was received from the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society suggesting that a royalty should be offered for the heads of y he birds and that the Wellington society should co-operate with the Native Bird Protection Society with a view to taking extreme measures. The Canterbury Society stated that a nest of a little grey owl taken from the north branch of the Waimakariri' River contained feathers, legs, and bills of a kingfisher, starling, two blackbirds, three thrushes, two skylarks, a waxeye, fantail sparrow, two chafiinches, a hedge-sparrow, and field mpuse. Since the increase of the^httle grey owl, smaller birds in the ' I|'_ lct vrere rapidly decreasing. The chairman of the Wellington Society (Dr. Anson) said that they thanked the Canterbury Association for its warning, but until the acclimatisation societies got back their just revenue from the forests it would be impossible'to take any steps in the way of offering royalties. j