38 



Bird- Lore 



tion of such bird or plumage; (Sec. 4) 

 Local governments may extend the protec- 

 tion of the Act to ' any animals of game 

 other than birds.' 



In order to promote bird protection and 

 arouse more general interest in the subject, 

 four branches of the English Society for the 

 Protection of Birds have been established in 

 India. These branches (beginning with 

 the main one) have been formed in the 

 following cities: Lucknow, 1900 (secretary, 

 W. Jesse, La Martiniere College) ; Bom- 

 bay, 1899 (secretary, E. Comber); Junagad, 

 Gujarat, 1899 (secretary, Labhshanker 

 Laxmidas) ; and Colombo, Ceylon, 1895 

 (secretary, S. G. A. Julius). Through the 

 efforts of these organizations, and through 

 appeals made to the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, 

 the government of India was induced to 

 issue a circular in August, 1900, addressed 

 to the local governments, inviting attention 

 to the Wild Birds' Protection Act of 1887, 

 and requesting information as to the plume 

 trade, and the destruction of wild birds, 

 particularly insectivorous species. In 1901 

 the Society was instrumental in secur- 

 ing new regulations for the protection of 

 Egrets and Herons throughout Burma. 

 Under these regulations killing from April 

 15 to October 31 is prohibited, and the 

 possession of recently captured Herons or 

 the importation of plumage during the 

 breeding season is forbidden. 



In 1902 an important step in advance 

 was made by the government by the issue 

 of the following order, which appeared in 

 the ' Gazette of India ' of September 20, 

 and which we quote as it was published 

 in a letter by Henry Beauchamp to the 

 'London Field ' for October 18, 1902: 



" Sir : You. were kind enough to publish 

 a contribution from me on this subject a 

 few months ago. A step has now been 

 taken by Lord Curzon's Government which 

 will go a long way towards protecting birds 

 in India from indiscriminate slaughter for 

 the sake of their skins and feathers. It is 

 contained in the following notification in 

 the 'Gazette of India' of September 20: 



" 'In exercise of the power conferred by 

 Section 19 of the Sea Custom Act, 1878 ( viii. 

 of 1878), the Governor- General in Council 



is pleased to prohibit the taking by sea or 

 by land out of British India of skins and 

 feathers of all birds other than domestic 

 birds, except {a) feathers of ostriches and {b) 

 skins and feathers exported bona fide as 

 specimens illustrative of natural history.' 



' ' By this very simple measure the Govern- 

 ment of India has put an effectual stop on 

 the export trade in birds' feathers and skins ; 

 and it is solely the export trade which en- 

 courages slaughter, the demand for skins 

 and feathers in India itself being practically 

 nil. One of the most curious features of 

 this particular trade hitherto has been the 

 enormous export of gay-plumaged birds' 

 skins to the Straits and to China, where 

 they are made into festival robes for use by 

 rich Chinamen. This will now be effectu- 

 ally prevented. Indeed, as regards the 

 whole question generally, I cannot help 

 thinking that the Government of India has 

 hit upon the simplest, easiest and most 

 effective of all devices, and that there will 

 now be no need for a Wild Birds' Protec- 

 tion Act, for, generally speaking, the na- 

 tives of India do not kill wild birds ' for 

 the pot.' — Henry Beauchamp, Madras, 

 September 2j." 



Although the natives as a rule do not 

 kill birds, in most cantonments and mu- 

 nicipal towns a few men called shi- 

 karees earn a living by killing game and 

 other birds for sale. These shikarees rely 

 chiefly on snares, bird-lime, and nets, to 

 capture their game, and they often travel 

 long distances on foot or by rail to reach 

 places where birds are abundant. As the 

 destruction of birds, especially of those 

 killed for the sake of their plumage, is due 

 chiefly to the demands of foreign trade, it 

 is hoped that the non-export order, in con- 

 nection with other existing laws and orders, 

 will exert a potent influence in preserving 

 the native species. 



Reports of Societies 



North Carolina Audubon Society 



The North Carolina Audubon Society 

 has been in existence for nearly ten months, 

 and is graduall}' getting its forces together 

 into a complete and substantial organiza- 



