172 BIRD FRIENDS 



Another scourge of birds in some localities has been 

 the boy egg-collector. Boys have a natural instinct 

 for collecting, and unless taught better sometimes 

 collect birds' eggs. These collections usually have 

 no scientific value, the chief purpose of the collector 

 being to see how many kinds of eggs he can find. 

 Where there is rivalry among boys to see who can 

 collect the most eggs, the results will be disastrous 

 to the bird life of that locality. In most cases, prob- 

 ably, boys do not realize that the taking of eggs is 

 forbidden by law. This kind of collecting is appar- 

 ently now not so common as in former years. Some- 

 times professional collectors who have a license to 

 collect may go to extremes in the number they 

 secure. 



Remedies. The remedy for excessive shooting for 

 sport is to shorten the open seasons, reduce the bag- 

 limit, and regulate the guns that may be used. In 

 recent years there has been a great improvement 

 along these lines in all the state laws. 



The remedy for shooting for market and for 

 feathers is to prohibit the selling of game and the use 

 of feathers of wild birds for millinery purposes. In 

 most of our States the sale of game is prohibited 

 now, and in some the use of feathers, and the recent 

 federal tariff regulation forbids the importation of 

 feathers for millinery purposes. Thus, with refer- 

 ence to all kinds of shooting the outlook for the 

 protection of birds is very hopeful. 



