si Report of Committee on Bird Protection. 21 



ing a sound. On April 12, the nest held its first egg, and both 

 birds were near by. A week later when I visited the caiion, 

 neither of the Kites could be found, and the nest contained naught 

 but a few fragments of shell. The destruction of the eggs was 

 probably accomplished by a ground squirrel, after which the birds 

 deserted the locality. 



REPORT OF THE A. O. U. COMMITTEE ON PROTEC- 

 TION OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Your Committee feel that the work done for the protection of 

 birds during the year 1896 has been amply rewarded, and that 

 the results obtained in the various channels of labor have been 

 commensurate with the efforts made. The brief outline of re- 

 sults given below will, we think, be of interest to the members of 

 the Union, and will also be an incentive to an increased activity 

 on the part of the various bodies and individuals who are inter- 

 ested in this most important and necessary work. 



Massachusetts. 



Mr. Geo. H. Mackay, of the Committee, reports as follows : 

 " I have to report for the district coming under my jurisdiction 

 that there is substantial evidence to prove that the enforcement of 

 all protective laws has been a good and wise investment. • Two 

 visits to Muskeget Island during the summer gave evidence of 

 the beneficial results of protection, for it is doubtful if in the 

 history of the Massachusetts Terns they have ever been so abun- 

 dant as during 1896. They have enjoyed a season of unmolested 

 quiet ; no eggs have been taken, and only eight birds were shot. 

 The results to be appreciated should be seen. I regret to be 

 compelled to add that the unsettled conditions between the town 

 of Nantucket and the owners of Muskeget, referred to in 1895, 

 still exist, making the work of protection a peculiarly difficult 

 one. The majority of the Selectmen of the town do not oppose 



