Abstract
ONE of the most noticeable effects of the war–time conditions upon British bird–ife has been the rapid increase of magpies, judging from reports in many parts of the country. Much larger flocks than usual have been seen in many counties, like Cheshire, but there is no evidence of any harmful effect. The cessation of game preservation and ‘vermin’ shooting is the chief cause, and the jay, carrion–crow and sparrow–hawk have shown increases from a similar cause. The felling of woods on a large scale is, however, affecting the distribution of the long–eared owl, woodcock, heron,rook, hawfinch as well as some of the woodland mammals and rarer birds of prey. Efforts to locate hobbies breeding in Wiltshire in 1941 failed.
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War and Birds. Nature 148, 779 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/148779b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/148779b0