SMALL BIRDS EXTERMINATOR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 397, 2 April 1908, Page 3

SMALL BIRDS EXTERMINATOR.

The extermiuatiou of small birds, which are the cause ol much loss to farmers every year, is likely to be brought about in time by little owls. Writing to the Otago Acclimatisation Society, Mr A. C. Iverson, of Earnscleugh, states that the owls liberated in that district, after breeding, went away, but returned later on. He thought they must have gone to some place where the small birds were more plentiful. Whenever the owls came about the birds disappeared. It made little difference, he thought, where they were liberated, as they would soou spread all over the country. He hoped the Goverument and the society would introduce each year as many more as could be obtained. They should be netted for the first month and fed until they gained the strength of their wings. He had noticed that at any place where the owls had camped there were the remains of wings and legs of small birds. Further, he had seen the owls trying to catch the birds in daylight. The council of the society has decided to take the necessary steps to procure more of the owls and seek the co-operation of the Farmers’ Union in the matter.