§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what information he has received concerning the impact of magpies on song bird populations;
(2) what assessment he has made of which particular song birds are most at risk from magpie predation.
§ Mr. BaldryPopulation levels of magpies have been monitored by the British Trust for Ornithology under contract to the Nature Conservancy Council. The trust found a substantial increase in magpie numbers between 1966 and 1986 and no evidence that magpie numbers had any deleterious effect overall on song bird populations and breeding success in the areas studied.