For lovers of Melitensia, A Complete Guide To The Birds Of Malta, written by Natalino Fenech is a must-have.
This encyclopaedic work should be of interest not only to ornithologists, trappers and hunters but also Maltese historians and folklorists.
Having said that, the migration route map for broad-winged migrants (page 144) is incorrect in that the route across the central Mediterranean is shown as skirting the southern tip of eastern Sicily and crossing over the Maltese islands on its way to Libya rather than crossing by the shortest route from western Sicily to Tunisia, as the author himself elaborated on page 146: “...another passageway is through the central Mediterranean from Cape Bon in Tunisia through Italy.”
Also, regarding the turtle dove’s migration over the Maltese islands, Dr Fenech wrote: “Turtle doves are very common from late March to early June in spring and common from mid-August to October in autumn.”
His assessment is somewhat imprecise, inasmuch as the turtle dove is not common at all neither in late March and early June nor in mid-August and October let alone “very common”.
One is happy to note that, unlike with Fatal Flight, Dr Fenech’s first book written in the early 1990s, a number of misconceptions have not been repeated.
This time, Dr Fenech gives a realistic picture of the hunting situation and gives various reasons (page 159) why some of the figures he had given in the 1992 publication needed to be revised. “One is also glad to note that the amount of hirundines and swifts shot is now considerably lower than has been estimated... Swifts and swallows and other small birds such as pipits and wagtails are now only occasionally shot at by some irresponsible hunters and the number of shooters who used to shoot them systemically has diminished to the point that one can say it is virtually non-existent... The number of shooters who shoot birds of prey has also dwindled”.
The author endorses the fact that the hunting federation and its affiliated partner are sending out the right message to all hunters that illegalities will not be tolerated at all.
Regarding BirdLife Malta, the then Malta Ornithological Society (MOS), Dr Fenech makes some astonishing revelations about the organisation’s modus operandi and the internal intrigues of piques in its past and present leadership. Of particular interest is the story behind the society’s monopoly of local bird-ringing. On page 116, Dr Fenech wrote: “A new agreement on bird-ringing was formulated on June 21, 1984 and the committee was to represent as much as possible all those interested in bird migration including the hunters’ association, the Għaqda Kaċċaturi Nassaba Konservazzjonisti (now the Federazzjoni Kaċċaturi Nassaba Konservazzjonisti – FKNK). However, this committee never functioned and the MOS carried on running the bird ringing scheme on its own.”
Ironically, in 2009, BirdLife Malta instigated a court case against FKNK officials for ringing and releasing birds back into the wild because, according to BirdLife, such a privilege can only be undertaken by their 15-odd licensed bird-ringers. The FKNK officials were acquitted from all charges in both the original case and at the appeal stage. After Dr Fenech’s exposè of the BLM bird-ringing deception, the justice of FKNK’s acquittal tastes sweeter.
Dr Fenech’s book also raises some queries about BirdLife when he refers to the yelkouan shearwater project, for which BirdLife have been awarded €1 million through EU funds. Dr Fenech questions BirdLife’s estimate of the number of the breeding birds of this species on the Maltese islands. “It has been repeatedly stated by BirdLife Malta that the breeding population in the Maltese islands makes up 10 per cent of the world population of yelkouan shearwaters. According to IUCN (2008), the world population ranges from 14,700 to 52,000 breeding pairs (average 33,350), whereas, according to the latest estimates (Raine et al. 2009), the Maltese islands population ranges between 1,680 and 1,990 breeding pairs (average 1,835)... If the more realistic average figures of both populations were compared, this would work out to an estimate of 5.5 per cent.”
Space does not permit a full review of this book. The book does not, of course, discuss subjects like safe gun-handling. But, for all that, in my opinion, A Complete Guide To The Birds Of Malta should adorn every hunter’s and trapper’s bookshelf as it provides a mine of information not only about the birds that interest the Maltese hunters and trappers but also about hunting and trapping as these have been and are still practised on our islands. I firmly believe this book fills a vacuum in the education of every hunter and/or trapper.
The presentation of the book is first class and the hundreds of colour photos are superb, making it one of the best books on the subject ever written.