80 



BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



IN THE COURTS. 



Taking Peregrines at Dover.— A case of great 

 interest to ornithologists and bird protectors was 

 heard at Dover on June 18, when Frederick 

 Chatwin, a well-known taxidermist and dealer, was 

 summoned by the Royal Society for the Protection 

 of Birds for possessing and offering for sale young 

 Peregrine Falcons taken on the Kentish Cliffs. 

 The young Peregrines on Dover Cliff have been 

 systematically taken each spring for years, in 

 defiance of the County Bird Protection Order, 

 which gives full protection (on paper) to this bird, 

 now excessively rare in the Home Counties. The 

 Society sent down an Inspector, who, after consider- 

 able investigation, called at Chatwin's shop on 

 June 3rd, as a possible purchaser. Defendant 

 offered him for 20s. each three young Peregrines, 

 kept in an upstairs room, which he said were taken 

 by his men a few days previously at a certain point 

 on the cliff. The Inspector asked him to keep the 

 birds until Saturday, and communicated with the 

 Society. On Saturday defendant said he had sold 

 the birds, but his men were at work again that day 

 with their ropes on the cliff and would probably 

 have the other two young birds by Monday. On 

 Monday the Inspector called again, with Inspector 

 Burroughs and a deteative, when defendant said he 

 had only one bird and that had been a difficult job 

 to get owing to the damp weather and slippery 

 state of the rock ledges ; the price was 20s. Asked 

 if it was really a Kentish- caught bird, defendant 

 said yes, it was caught between Dover and St. 

 Margaret's. 



Defendant now denied that any of the birds were 

 Kentish, and put in receipts purporting to show 

 that they were imported from abroad ; he had said 

 they were taken in Kent in order to sell them. 

 The Mayor said that as he had no birds on the 5th 

 the one must have been taken in England. This 

 again defendant denied; he showed three at first 

 as the others were not in proper condition. 



The Bench dismissed the summons with regard 

 to the three birds sold by defendant, and let him 

 off with payment of costs, 10s. 6d., in respect of 

 the bird seen on June 7th, which they considered 

 was taken in England. 



The bird was forfeited. Chatwin said it would 

 starve if liberated on the cliffs, as it had never been 

 there before. When let out it made at once in the 

 direction of the nesting-place. 



Birdcatching. — At Stratford, on April 15th, 

 Harry Marsh, of Goldsmith Row, Shoreditch, was 

 fined 20s. and costs for assaulting one of the Epping 

 Forest keepers, and 10s. and costs for birdcatching. 

 Prisoner had a Chaffinch decoy, lime, and dummy 

 bird, and the keeper took possession of the Chaffinch, 

 whereupon prisoner came out of hiding and 

 struck him on the face. — At Leicester, Joseph Hunt 

 was convicted of taking two Linnets on April 15th 

 and refusing his name and address. He said he had 

 a cold and the policeman could not understand him. 

 Fined 5s. and costs. — At Dudley, James Turner was 

 fined 5s. and costs for using decoy and lime to take 

 Larks on April 20th. He had a decoy bird in a 

 cage, the top of which was covered with bird-lime, 

 and round it were strings and wood also limed. 

 The magistrate said it was a disgraceful practice. 



Taking Lapwings' Eggs. — At Kilmarnock, on 

 May 24th, John Hood and John Graham were fined 

 8s. and 16s. respectively for taking Lapwings' eggs. — 

 At Kirriemuir, on May 26th, two boys were fined 

 2s. 6d. each for a similar offence. — At Aberdeen, on 

 April 21st, two Huntly apprentices were convicted 

 of taking eight Lapwings' eggs. Sheriff Begg 

 doubted whether the law was generally known 

 among boys, but the Fiscal said bills were posted up 

 in all prominent places, and if the accused did not 

 know it was an offence they were the only boys who 

 did not. Fined Is. each. Before the same court on 

 April 26th two more Huntly lads were fined 2s. and 

 Is. respectively for taking two eggs. On April 

 29th a third offence of the same character was 

 heard, when Charles Thomson and Donald Stewart 

 were convicted of taking four eggs at Huntly. 

 Both men had absconded and Stewart had not been 

 traced. The Fiscal said the men were out on 

 Sunday searching for eggs, and probably made a 

 trade of it. They had cost the county £1 16s. 

 Sheriff Begg said he did not want to deal harshly 

 with them, but had to inflict a fine equivalent to 

 the expense. 



READY SHORTLY. 



Legislation for the Protection of Birds. 



Jl Comparative Reoiew of the Laws in 

 force in Great Britain and on the Continent, 

 with the proposals of the International 

 Convention of 1902 and the Jlmerican 

 Model Law. 



By A. Holte Macpherson, B.C.L., F.Z.S., 



— AND — 



Lieut. -Colonel G. A. Momber, F.Z.S. 



The Essay for which the Gold Medal of the 

 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was 

 awarded; with extracts from that which obtained 

 the Second Prize. 



I With Preface by the 



Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., F.R.S. 



Price ls„ by post Is. 2d. 



IJ The attention of all Bird Protectors is specially 

 directed to these Essays, as they deal in a 

 most interesting and suggestive manner with 

 the progress of the movement throughout 

 Europe and with important phases of the 

 question. 



Bird Notes and News (issued quarterly) will 

 be sent post free to any address for Is, per annum, 

 payable in advance ; single numbers, 3d. 



To Members of the Society subscribing 5s. and 

 upwards per annum it is forwarded gratis and post 

 free. 



Printed by Witherby & Co., 326, High Holboin, W.C., and 

 published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Bikds, 

 3, Hanover Square, London, W. 



