18 



The oologist 



NEXT! 



A bill has been introduced into Con- 

 gress and is in a fair way to pass, re- 

 quiring a Federal license of the five 

 million American sportsmen at a dol- 

 lar per annum for hunting migratory 

 birds, not less than 45% of which is 

 to be spent by the government in buy- 

 ing or renting land which would serve 

 as breeding and feeding places for 

 birds during the period for their flight 

 North during "-the closed season and 

 as public shooting grounds during 

 the open season, and additional 45% 

 to be used for the enforcement of tho 

 Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Lacy 

 Act and remaining 10% to be expend 

 ed for expenses in administering the 

 Act. Most of the provisions of the bill 

 are very commendable and is to be 

 hoped will be enacted in the law. 



However, a very serious defect of 

 this bill is that it provides that tlie 

 Attorney General, Post Master Gen- 

 eral, and two members of each of the 

 houses of Congress, shall be the com- 

 mission in control of the matter. It is 

 our judgment as the result of a good 

 many years of both public and private 

 experience, that the Attorney General, 

 Post Master General, Members of tlie 

 house of Representatives and Senate, 

 have each enough to do, if they attend 

 to their duties of their respective 

 offices and make an honest, serious 

 effort to earn the salaries paid them 

 for so doing that their time will be 

 fully occupied. The result of any 

 such commission as that proposed in 

 this bill will be to make this act a 

 mere political football. 



The theory and idea of the act is 

 good, its proper administration will be 

 beneficial to the wild birds and to the 

 public in general. However, it should 

 be a'dministered by a non-partisan or- 

 ganization or an organization com- 

 posed of members of parties, all of 

 whom should be men of recognized 

 ability and standing in Ornithology 



and Bird Protection. 



It is a disgrace to our system of Gov- 

 ernment that substantially every good 

 thing that we do must be besmirched 

 with political partisan patronagisms 

 almost without exception and regard- 

 less of which party originates the idea. 



Another serious defect in this bill as 

 we view it, is that it provided only for 

 refuge of the birds during the closed 

 season, i. e. tlie breeding and North- 

 ern flight season. There must be: 

 nesting places provided for the birdi 

 free frcm molestation and hunting in 

 their Southern migration as well as 

 during the Northern migration if they 

 are to be preserved. — R. M. Barnes. 



THE CARDINAL (C. CARDINALS) 

 AT KALAMAZOO 



Twenty years ago the Cardinal Gro3' 

 beak was a very rare bird in this vi-. 

 cinity. During the severe winter o| 

 '03-'04 L saw my first Cardinal. It was 

 on December 25th, 1903. This wa? mj 

 only record for the next five years 

 Thereafter I occasionally came acros 

 a few members of this species, all' 

 males and recorded usually between 

 November and April They seemed to 

 disappear during the summer mcntn^ ' 

 and for several years none were sseu. 

 During the la'st five years they are 

 slowly, but surely, increasing, and at 

 tlie present, time January, '22, there 

 are about a dozen wintering vvithin 

 the city limits. Several pairs are fre- 

 quently noted the same day. Beyond 

 question they now breed in this sec- 

 tion, as during tlie breeding season 

 they can readily be found by visiting 

 suitable localities, such as brushy low- 

 lands along the river. This species it 

 appears is gradually increasing it.^ 

 range Northward. 



Win. Wilkowski, 

 Jan. 22, 1922. Kalamazoo, Midi. 



Few birds have extended their range 

 northerly in the past forty years more 

 than the Cardinal has.— R. M. B. 



