150 



Bird - Lore 



The close-season bill (Senate No. 76) 

 passed the Senate and, at this writing, is 

 in the hands of the House Committee on 

 the Judiciary. 



A bill was introduced in the Senate to 

 establish a close season on Ducks, Brant, 

 Geese and Swans, from January 1 to 

 September 1. Another was introduced to 

 protect shore birds from January 1 to 

 August 1. These bills have been favorably 

 reported in the Senate and have passed 

 that body. They are, at present, in the 

 House. Another Senate bill (No. 53), in- 

 tended to repeal the law establishing a 

 bounty on Hawks, Owls and Crows, is 

 still in committee. The adjournment of 

 the Legislature is expected soon. All these 

 bills, with the exception of the bill for the 

 protection of wild fowl, are in accord with 

 the recommendations of the Bird Com- 

 missioners of the State of Rhode Island. 

 Edward Howe Forbush. 



Another Reason for Wild Fowl Protec- 

 tion 



The following is quoted from the Third 

 Report of the Provincial Game and Forest 

 Warden of the Province of British Colum- 

 bia: "Ducks have again been noticeable 

 by the smallness of their numbers, and 

 the quantity shot has not even compared 

 well with last year, which was a very poor 

 year. Weather conditions were certainly 

 unfavorable during the early part of the 

 season, but lately this cannot be the rea- 

 son. Year after year, the number of Ducks 

 visiting our coasts get less and less, and, 

 at the present rate of decrease, it simply 

 means that in a few years no Ducks will 

 come at all. There is little doubt that there 

 is too much shooting. Every year there 

 is a greater demand for ducks in the mar- 

 ket, and every year there is a larger in- 

 crease in the number of men out with 

 guns; day after day it is one incessant 

 fusilade, and a Duck no sooner appears 

 on the scene than he is shot at, no matter 

 what distance he is away. Then, too, 

 shooting at night is still carried on in 

 places, and this does more harm than 

 anything else. 



The only solution of the question is 

 establishing sanctuaries for the birds to 

 rest in and the adoption of the tag system, 

 whereby the limit of Ducks killed by 

 market hunters could be enforced." 



A Good Example and Good Advice 



"I enclose check for five dollars as my 

 first annual fee to the National Associa- 

 tion, of which I would like to be made a 

 sustaining member. I am very much 

 interested in the preservation of those 

 species of our birds that are nearest to 

 extermination, and I wish to urge that no 

 effort be spared to give such birds as the 

 Willet and Least Tern absolute protection 

 all the time, so far as it is within the power 

 of the Society to do so. A species once lost 

 can never be restored, and we have none 

 to spare." 



An Active Game Warden 



W. L. Giddings, a deputy in Ohio, says: 

 "I have made a raid on the milliners of 

 Columbus, and have convicted four firms 

 for having aigrettes in their possession; 

 three of which were fined $25 apiece, with 

 costs, and one $50, with costs. They say 

 they will not handle them any longer, and 

 have cancelled their orders with New York 

 firms for all bird plumage. I also have 

 three cases in Cincinnati. I will give the 

 other cities a visit as soon as possible, as 

 the New York wholesalers are drumming 

 trade out here at present. I also seized 

 all aigrettes found in the above places of 

 business, condemned them and turned 

 them over to the State." 



The Value of the Nighthawk 



Recently the stomach of a Nighthawk 

 that was shot in Texas was examined by 

 the experts in the Biological Survey at 

 Washington, and in it were found 300 

 mosquitoes. Any bird that will destroy 

 such a large number of mosquitoes at one 

 meal is worth to any locality at least $1 

 a day, and any person who is willing 

 to kill a Nighthawk should be arrested 



