264 THE IMPORTANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



list of principles upon which the game-laws then 

 depended. 1 These are much the same to-day, ex- 

 cept that the control of some birds has passed out 

 of the hands of the State into those of the Fed- 

 eral Government. Those slight alterations are 

 indicated by italics in the following table of Dr. 

 Palmer's principles: 



(a) STATE LAWS 



1. All non-migratory wild birds are the property of 

 the state; hence: 



2. Killing of birds is a privilege, not a right. 



3. State ownership of birds carries with it the right 

 to impose restriction ; hence : 



4. Birds may be captured, possessed, transported, 

 bought, or sold only under such conditions as the State 

 prescribes. 



5. Landowners have no more right to kill birds out 

 of season than other persons, unless the law specifically 

 grants this privilege. 



(b) FEDERAL LAWS 



6. All migratory birds, native or otherwise, are the 

 property of the United States; hence: 



7. State restrictions concerning them pass to the Fed- 

 eral Government. 



8. Non-migratory birds are protected by the Federal 

 law only when shipped from or into a State which pro- 

 tects them by a local law. 



9. Birds killed or shipped contrary to law in any 

 State cannot lawfully be transported to other States. 



10. Birds brought into a State become subject to its 



i"Bird Lore"; Vol. Ill, pp. 79-81. 



