»i Bulletin of the 



SOME WORK FOR MICHIGAN ORNITHOLOGISTS 



TO DO. 



Before outlining a plan for work for the members of the 

 Michigan Ornithological Club, I desire to express my satisfac- 

 tion that the many well-known ornithologists of the Wolverine 

 State have formed an organization which must advance the 

 science of ornithology in the region about the great lakes, and 

 will also benefit each individual member. 



I am well satisfied in my own mind that state ornithological 

 clubs are of great benefit to the science at large ; further, such 

 organizations keep the members in touch with each other, and 

 when a journal is published, give an opportunity for individuals 

 to contribute ornithological matter, which has been developed 

 under personal observation, and will not only interest fellow- 

 members, but be a record of permanent value. 



Moreover the work of an organization in every channel fol- 

 lowed is very much greater than the sum total of the work of the 

 individual members. 



The first line of work to be attempted by the club as an or- 

 ganization, is to have the present incomplete non-game bird law 

 of Michigan amended, that it may protect all of the beneficial 

 birds, and w r ill also be uniform with the non-game bird laws of 

 a large number of states which have already adopted the Ameri- 

 can Ornithologists' Union model law : this law has the approval 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



The present Michigan law in certain of its sections is admir- 

 able ; for instance, Section 5804 makes birds the property of the 

 state ; Section 5805 prevents shipment of birds out of the state. 

 (See Miller's Compiled Laws, 1897, Vol. 2, Chap. 150, pp. 1812- 

 1816.) 



By a very simple amendment to Section 14 of the Public Acts 

 of 1 901, No. 217, pp. 335-339, under the head of "Species Pro- 

 tected; Exceptions," the present law of Michigan may be made 

 entirely satisfactory. It is not broad or comprehensive enough 

 at present, as there are many birds in Michigan that are neither 

 "song" nor "insectivorous birds," that are not now protected but 

 are deserving of the fullest protection. 



An amendment is now before the legislature, having been in- 

 troduced by the Hon. George Gallup, substituting the words "or 

 any other wild non-game bird" for "song or insectivorous bird." 



