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Bird- Lore 



The Birds' Protection Act of 1900 was 

 a marked advance over the act of 1886, 

 and in several respects bears a close resem- 

 blance to our A. O. U. model law, espe- 

 cially in grouping the birds under three 

 'schedules.' Birds mentioned in the first 

 schedule were protected throughout the 

 year; those in the second schedule (corre- 

 sponding to our game birds) were protected 

 during certain close seasons, while those 

 in the third schedule were excepted from 

 protection.* In order to mention by name 

 the various birds which were protected 

 throughout the year and still avoid an un- 

 duly long list, Gould's ' Handbook to the 

 Birds of Australia ' was adopted as the 

 official guide, and the common name, ac- 

 companied by the family designation and 

 the inclusive species numbers used by 

 Gould, were given in each case. It is 

 interesting to notice that this list contains, 

 among others. Owls, Ibises, Herons, Egrets, 

 Sea Gulls and Terns of all species. Birds, 

 native or imported, which were not men- 

 tioned in the first or third schedules were 

 included with game birds, and accorded a 

 special close season extending from July i 

 to December 21. The excepted list in the 

 act of 1886 was modified by omitting Black 

 Magpies and Sparrows and adding Hawks, 

 English House-Sparrows, English Starlings 

 and English Chaffinches. Why the Snipe 

 was excluded from protection is not evi- 

 dent, but the fact that three of the other 

 ten groups were introduced birds (two of 

 which are now excluded by law from the 

 United States) is a significant commentary 

 on ill-advised efforts at acclimatization of 

 foreign birds. Not only the English Sparrow 

 and the Starling, but even the Chaffinch 

 has increased so rapidly in South Australia 

 as to become injurious and is regarded as 

 unworthy of protection. 



Like the A. O. U. law, the Birds' Pro- 

 tection Act prohibits possession, sale and 

 export of birds or eggs, provides for keeping 

 birds in captivity and for collecting for 

 scientific purposes under permits issued by 

 the Commissioner of Crown Lands on the 

 recommendation of the Director of the 

 South Australian Museum. In some re- 



* Upon proclamation of the governor, any birds could 

 be transferred from one schedule to another. 



spects it goes even farther than our laws, 

 for it prohibits sale or offering for sale 

 " any skin or feather of any protected bird, 

 or any article made therefrom, or in which 

 the same shall be used," and makes re- 

 fusal, on the part of any person violating 

 the law, to disclose his true name and 

 address, punishable like other offences 

 against the act. It also contains an inter- 

 esting provision, to the effect that the 

 governor may, by proclamation published 

 in the 'Government Gazette,' "make an 

 order declaring that any portion of the 

 Crown lands, or any public reserve, or the 

 seashore or any part thereof, shall be a 

 bird -protection district." 



It is evident that laws like these could 

 not have been passed unless there was a 

 strong local sentiment in favor of bird- 

 protection, and this is also shown by the 

 fact that, upon the passage of the act of 

 1900, large hand-bills, containing a list of 

 the protected birds, were distributed, through 

 the Minister of Education, to all the public 

 schools, and, through the Commissioner of 

 Crown Lands, to all the post offices, police 

 stations, institutes and district councils. 

 This favorable public sentiment has been 

 largely created through the efforts of the 

 Society for the Protection of Birds and the 

 South Australian Ornithological Associa- 

 tion. The former, a branch of the English 

 Society for the Protection of Birds, was 

 founded in 1894, and in 1901 had a mem- 

 bership of 1,033. Its headquarters are at 

 Adelaide, and its secretary is Mrs. John 

 Playford, 'The Willows,' Mitchan, Ade- 

 laide, South Australia. It has issued seven 

 annual reports showing the progress of its 

 work. The South Australian Ornithological 

 Association, while primarily devoted to 

 advancing the interests of ornithology in 

 general, also devotes attention to bird-pro- 

 tection, and at the second annual meeting 

 of the Australian Ornithologists' Union, in 

 November, 1902, took an active part in the 

 effort to secure the enactment of more 

 uniform bird laws throughout southern 

 Australia. Nowhere in the southern hemi- 

 sphere has more active interest been dis- 

 played, and nowhere have more practical re- 

 sults in bird-protection been accomplished, 

 than in South Australia. — T. S. Palmer. 



