NATURE-AND MAN

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19882, 11 May 1936, Page 12

NATURE-AND MAN

“GOOD-LUCK. GOOD-LUCK?!

A 111-OULL'O CALL. (By "Leo. Fanning.") Tn the bright sunshine of Goo Friday I “as on tho \\’cllingtnn water front. watching some carefree sez gulls wheeling among the ship: watching for the friendly gifts c cooks or stewards. When a buck of scraps went over a rail the ai rang with a grateful chorus, “Kerlucl Kerluck, Ker-luck,” which was nea enough to “Good luck, good luck, goo luck." The sea-gull is not a singei but' that joyous call was a reminder 0 the part played by many kinds 0 birds in giving gladness and inspira tion to mankind. Indeed birds are in timately associated with the materi: and spiritual progress of humanit since the dawn of history. The wing of a. bird had to be borrowed to giv a notion of an angel. I also felt that the sea-gull, wit‘ that call of “good luck” was actin: as the representative of the world' birds—" Good luck to men and woniEl of goodwill to birds! Good luck ti friends of trees!" Flashing colours and songs of bird can drive dark care from the gloom iest pessimist. :Even a little chirrui means “cheer up.“ Who could losi hope when listening to a tui or bell bird, in thrush or a blackbird? Evei the carol of a grey-warbler, whicl someone has rather unjustly describe as “sadly-sweet," can lift up a droop lng mind. ' Armies Led by Eagles. Of course, eagles have been chose] as national symbols by ancient ant modern nations. Under the sign 0' the eagle the legions of Rome con quered much of Europe, Asia am Africa. In many a hard battle heavily outnumbered, Roman remnanti rallled by the eagles and won. Stories of military prowess make one wonde: how much of the Roman superiorit: was due to the choice of the eagle a: a symbol. 11' the sign had been a tom-tit would there have‘ been I Roman Empire? When the Romans went to war they took with them priests or soothsayer: whose special function was to drain omens. favourable or unfavourable from observations of the flight of birds and inspection of entrails of birds killed for that purpose. The won “auspices" comes from the old practice. The term simply means birdseeing. bird—watching or bird-inspec-tion. The root of the Latin word fm bird (EIVIS) is also the base oi "uugury." Shrewd Starlings. In a previous article I mentioned the starling as "the Beau Brummel of the bird world." for this bird does like tr look spruce. [t is also distinctly a hll‘li or business. a bird with a definitc policy. True, 3 starling Will inkr some lllllU ii" in \\hl'slle .‘md dwlixlils in those marvellous wheeling flights oi autumn and winter_ when the. sun is setting. but ordinarily the starling seems to be working to a: business plan. Some birds mix up much playfulness and dallianco with their feeding habits. but that is not the starling’s way, which is one of intense active application. Wandering on the uplands of Wellington the other day I stood admiring the work of a citizen who kept a beautiful award of green on a bank outside his section. A starling alighted on the turf. gave a. quick look around. and then moveJ quickly to tho fringed edge of the bank. The bird knew well that the thick overhanging niat left by the. mower was a shelter for various pests. Therefore it busdy fossicked in that place where mbs and insects had hoped to be safe. and was richly rewarded. It had about twenty good morsels during my stay of a few minutes. White-eyes. thrushes and many other birds are also intelligent searchers. Well and truly docs the thrush know where the shell—hack likes to lurk during tho day until night gives the signal for a raid on plants. Thinking of the astonished arts and crafts exercised by many species of birds in food-winningr uiakrs mc stick to my belief that tho black-barked gull is low down in the class. Some~ how this bird learned the trick of flying up \\’ii'u a small mussel and drop~ ping it to break the shell. but this is the only sign of cleverness which I have observed in this gull. Hundreds of times I have watched them prowling on bcnrhcs at low water. looking for food. but not once have I seen them turning over small pieces of rocks under which crabs would be hiding. or searching in shallow pools where small fish (“cockabullies”) could be caught. That is why I cannot belicve the assertions that gulls take Icliu‘ trout in rivers of Canterbury.