Vol. xiii.] 44 



resolution was unanimously carried at a meeting of the 

 B. O. C, no steps appear to have been taken to confirm it 

 at any of the Annual Meetings of the B. O. U. This is the 

 more to be regretted as the resolution, as it stands, is some- 

 what imperfectly drawn up. 



" (1) It is presumed that it applies to Great Britain and 

 Ireland, and Great Britain and Ireland only *; but, according 

 to the literal wording, any member of the B. O. U. who 

 orders a clutch of Common Buzzards from the Continent is 

 subject to the severest censure of the Union ! 



" (2) Probably about 40 pairs of Buzzards breed annually 

 in Great Britain, and in some parts of Wales the species is 

 common — twelve pairs nesting within a radius of a few 

 miles. The taking of a first clutch of this bird in Wales can 

 do no great harm if the second laying is left ; yet this bird 

 is protected while others — which need protection far more — 

 are ignored. In the same way the Chough on the Irish west 

 coast is safe from extermination by egg-collectors, although 

 it should be protected in England and Wales. 



" (3) The omissions are, however, more serious. The few 

 pairs of Golden Eagles and Bed-throated Divers w T hich still 

 lead a precarious existence in Ireland may be plundered 

 with impunity; the Great Skua is not mentioned nor is the 

 Bearded Tit included ; while, on the other hand, few of us are 

 likely to have the opportunity of taking nests of the Bittern, 

 Hoopoe, or Golden Oriole in England. 



" Without falling into the errors of our County Councils 

 and adopting the county divisions, surely some discrimination 

 should be made between England, Wales, Scotland, and 

 Ireland. The Golden Eagle in Ireland is perilously near 

 extinction and needs all the protection we can give it ; in 

 Scotland it stands at present in no immediate danger ; and 

 the same may be said of the Red-throated Diver. The 

 Buzzard may well be protected in England, but seems likely 

 to survive for many years in Wales. 



" But what I wish more particularly to point out is that 



* [The context plainly shows that the resolution refers exclusively to 

 the British Islands. — Ed,] 



