120 



Bird Notes and News 



of the R.S.P.B. for the best Essay on 

 " The British Owls : the necessity for their 

 better protection and the means to be 

 adopte(i for preserving Owls, Kestrels, 

 Buzzards, Harriers, and other useful 

 Birds of Prey." 



THE WILD BIRDS PROTECTION 



ACTS. 

 The Home Secretary has appomted a 

 committee to inquire into what action 

 has been taken under the Wild Birds 

 Protection Acts, and to consider whether 

 any amendments of the law or improve- 

 ments in its administration are required. 

 The members of the committee are ; — 



The Hon. E. S. Montagu, M.P., Under- 

 Secretary of State for India (chairman). 



Lord Lucas, Parliamentary Secretary 

 to the Board of Agriculture. 



Mr. Frank Elhott, of the Home Office. 



Mr. E. G. B. Meade-Waldo, member 

 of the Council, Royal Society for the 

 Protection of Birds. 



Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, British 

 Museum (Natural History). 



Mr. Hugh S. Gladstone, F.Z.S., F.R.S.E. 



Mr. W. Eagle Clarke, F.R.S.E., Royal 

 Scottish Museum. 



The secretary is Mr. Harold R. Scott, 

 of the Home Office. 



THE DESTRUCTION 

 OF SWALLOWS IN FRANCE. 



M. Clementel, the French Minister of 

 Agriculture, has addressed the following 

 circular letter to the prefects : 



" My attention has been called to the 

 systematic destruction of Swallows which 

 goes on in certain districts of the south of 

 France. 



" I shall be grateful to you if you will 

 let me know, as soon as possible, if such 

 destruction is practised in your department 

 and, if so, what measures you have taken 

 to put an end to it." 



The Minister has also issued a circular to 

 the "Directeurs des services agricoles" 



(instructors and lecturers on agriculture) 

 requesting them to call attention to the 

 damage done to crops by insects and the 

 consequent necessity for protecting birds. 



BIRD PROTECTION IN 

 ITALY. 



Although the new Italian Bird Protection 

 Bill does not propose to do all that Bird 

 Protectors could desire, it marks a great 

 advance. Some of its provisions are dis- 

 tinctly interesting, and go a step further 

 than does the present British law. Among 

 its propositions are : — a close season from 

 January 1st to September 30th ; prohibition 

 of the use of automatic guns, explosives, 

 poisoned food, and electrical devices for 

 bird-destruction, also of nets spread by 

 streams, of the catching or chasing of birds 

 during heavy snowfalls, and the use of 

 blinded decoys. The use of the roccolo, 

 ordinary nets, and limed twigs is still 

 allowed. During the close season all traffic 

 in game is to be prohibited, whether kept 

 in ice or not. On petition of Provincial 

 Councils, the destruction of birds injurious 

 to agriculture, breeding preserves, or fisheries, 

 may be authorised in the close time, and 

 the taking of birds and nests at th?vt time 

 may also be permitted for scientific pur- 

 poses ; but in neither of these cases may 

 the birds be sold. The catching of Swallows, 

 Swifts, and Nightingales is absolutely for- 

 bidden ; but a very weak point in the Bill 

 is the proposal to allow special permits for 

 the killing of migratory birds on payment 

 of a special tax. It is to be hoped that this 

 clause will be dropped. The power is vested 

 in the Minister of Agriculture, assisted by a 

 representative Council, and the Provincial 

 Committees are similarly constituted. The 

 progress of the measure will be watched 

 with great interest. 



