THE PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS. 



(March 14, 1891.) 



A SHORT Bill, which, should it become law, will be 

 known as " The Wild Birds Protection Act, 1891," 

 has been introduced into the House of Commons by 

 Mr. A. E. Pease, member for York, one of the 

 chief objects of which, as it was originally drawn, 

 was to extend the protection of the law to eggs as 

 well as to the parent birds. Much attention has been 

 drawn to this Bill owing to the preposterous design 

 of the " Naturalists' Publishing Company, of 

 Birmingham," to undertake an " Oological expedi- 

 tion to the land of the Great Auk ; " or, in other 

 words, to despatch an " experienced oologist " to 

 trespass in the Shetland Islands in search of birds 7 

 eggs, of which we were told, "if the season is a 

 pretty fair one, a haul of at least 20,000 (including 

 many beautiful and rare varieties) may be 

 expected ; " a design which, thanks to the efforts 

 of Lord Lilford and Mr. Wilson Noble, who 

 exposed it in the Times, has, perhaps luckily for 

 the experienced oologist in question, been aban- 

 doned. That a suggestion such as this could be 

 made in all seriousness, as was apparently the case, 

 will no doubt satisfy many that Mr. Pease's Bill is 



