10 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



honey buzzard, hoopoe, Kentish plover, kite, long-eared owl, 

 osprey, Pallas sand grouse, sea eagle, short-eared owl, spoon- 

 bill, St Kilda wren, tawny owl, white or barn owl. 



These schedules seem to us excellent, but we must 

 confess that we can see no reason for including "Swan" in 

 schedule A. If the semi-tame Mute Swan be meant, it 

 surely needs no protection against owners and occupiers. 

 If the Whooper (which does not now breed in this country 

 but which has begun to linger in the Highlands during the 

 summer in a suggestive fashion), the point should have been 

 made clear. In schedule B, too, the name "Bustard" is 

 ambiguous : is the Great Bustard or the Little Bustard 

 meant ? or does the term include both species ? The pro- 

 tection of eggs and nests of the birds in schedules A and B 

 is arranged for, and special clauses are drawn out protecting 

 the eggs of the Lapwing absolutely (except that owners, or 

 persons authorised by them in writing, should be allowed to 

 take the eggs on their own land up to 15th April), and 

 the eggs and nests of the Woodcock from ist February to 

 1st August. Sanctuaries for birds and eggs are highly 

 approved, and it is recommended that a power to create 

 these should be continued in any future Acts and made use 

 of, as far as possible, by the central and local authorities. 

 It is suggested that there be complete protection of birds 

 and eggs in all Royal Forests, and the areas controlled by 

 the War Office and Admiralty be maintained as reserves for 

 bird life. Other important suggestions are : the prohibiting 

 throughout the year of the taking of birds in any public 

 place, highway, byway, common or waste land ; complete 

 Sunday protection of all birds and eggs throughout the 

 country ; and the granting of licences to suitable persons to 

 take scheduled birds or eggs for definite scientific purposes. 



What seems to us far the most important and far- 

 reaching recommendation made by the Committee is the 

 setting up in London of an Ornithological Advisory 

 Committee, analogous to the Hungarian Central Office 

 of Ornithology and the Ornithological Bureau of the 

 United States of America. The duties of this Committee 

 would be : 



