16 



BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



when immediate action by the Force may be all- 

 sufficient ; but a policeman's duties are many, and 

 he cannot remain on point duty at a nest nor on 

 patrol duty at a breeding-ground. The watcher 

 has to guard certain definite places, vigilantly and 

 constantly, in the interests of ornithology as well 

 as in furtherance of the law ; he has to be on the 

 outlook for poachers of every grade ; to report on 

 the safety and progress of the birds ; and to be 

 impervious to threats or bribes. In outlying and 

 lonely districts, or in regions of a different 

 character where the tripper possesses a rapacious 

 curiosity and a well-filled purse, his billet is not 

 the easiest to fill. 



Some very interesting work is being undertaken 

 this year ; details cannot, for obvious reasons, be 

 given at present, although the trading collector 

 probably knows the breeding places of pretty well 

 every rare species in the land. It must simply be 

 said that from the far Shetlands in the north to 

 Kent in the south, the Society is endeavouring to 

 do all in its power for the preservation of certain 

 threatened members of the British avifauna. 

 Mr. Hoseason is again undertaking to keep his 

 yacht active about the shores of Hascosay ; and at 

 two or three other stations in the Shetland group 

 efforts are being made to protect the Sea-eagle and 

 other rare species. In Kent the same watcher is 

 again at work who watched the Dungeness area 

 last year. Lundy Island is believed to be safe 

 from pillagers, through the co-operation of 

 Mr. Taylor who leases the greater part of the 

 island. In Cornwall an attempt is being made 

 towards checking the depredations of French fisher- 

 men, who make heavy raids upon the birds of the 

 Brissons, the only Cornish breeding-place of the 

 Puffin, Razorbill, and Guillemot. The proprietor of 

 the Scilly Isles, Mr. Dorrien-Smith, has issued 

 stringent rules for the protection of birds in those 

 islands, and has set watchers to see that the rules 

 are obeyed. 



In the Kite district of Wales bird-protectors have 

 the co-operation of the wealthiest and most influ- 

 ential landowner, and watchers are on guard day 

 and night. The notable bird colony on the Fames 

 and the haunts of decimated species on the Norfolk 

 Broads are undertaken by local associations. The 

 Bass Rock is rendered safe, it is hoped, by the good- 

 will of the tenant, backed by the Haddington Order. 

 Grassholm is under the care of the Cardiff Natu- 

 ralists' Society. 



There are, however, numerous places remaining 

 where active protection is needed for the birds, yet 



cannot be given, either through lack of definite 

 information and local interest, or through want of 

 funds to pay a watcher. The Society would 

 earnestly appeal for help to those who are interested 

 in maintaining Britain's bird- life, and in the survival 

 of scarce and decreasing species in particular. Infor- 

 mation with respect to the appearance and the nesting 

 places of unfamiliar birds (such as the raptors, 

 Sparrow-hawk excepted, the Raven, the Chough, the 

 rarer coast- and sea-birds, the Bittern, the Hoopoe, 

 etc.) is most welcome. The interest of landowners 

 and of other local residents in the preservation of 

 areas and nests, and in the encouragement and 

 possibly superintendence of watchers, is invaluable. 

 Funds for the prosecution of the work are indis- 

 pensable. The Watchers' Fund is kept distinct from 

 the ordinary income of the Society, and donations 

 to it from members of the Society or from other 

 bird-lovers and naturalists are separately acknow- 

 ledged. 



THE GREAT SKUA IN ICELAND. 



WHILE the Royal Society for the Protection of 

 Birds is doing its best to protect the Great Skua 

 and paying watchers for the purpose, it is regret- 

 able to find in the January (1906) number of the 

 OrnitliologiscJie Afo/m/ssc/ir///(pp. 16-42), published 

 at Dresden by the " Deutsche Verein zum Schutze 

 der Vogelwelt," an article on a trip to Iceland, with 

 an illustration from a photograph of a collector 

 with two hundred and forty eggs of this species 

 taken on this occasion. How can the ' : Verein" 

 have consented to the publication of such an 

 article and illustration in their Journal, and how 

 can the Danish authorities in Iceland have per- 

 mitted such conduct, especially as they are sup- 

 posed to be greatly in favour of the protection of 

 birds ? Nothing is said in the article itself as to 

 the number of the eggs of the other species 

 obtained, but seeing that as many as two hundred 

 and forty eggs of the Great Skua alone were 

 taken it may be supposed that every egg on the 

 Island that would be of any value to a dealer, more 

 especially every egg of a rare species of bird that 

 could by any means be secured, was carried off. 

 If such proceedings are tolerated by the authorities 

 in Iceland, not only the Great Skua, but every 

 other rare bird which now breeds in that island, 

 is in danger. 



At Dornoch Sheriff Court, on June 12th, 

 Alexander M. Chance, of Edgbaston, was fined 

 £g for robbing two nests of the Grey-lag Goose 

 on Eilan Mor. 



