BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



man, the genuine lover of the country ; to be got 

 not from books but through the attentive ear and 

 the eye heeding all living things ; taken in without 

 effort, never forgotten, and forbidding waste and 

 desecration of the best things around us." 



The birdcatcher gets an " appreciation a from 

 both the Times and Standard. "The vagabond 

 who steals from hedgerow to hedgerow with his 

 traps and limed twigs has in him the making of 

 nothing valuable," says the former. " He is cruel, 

 ignorant, idle, and a pest, too often meriting Izaak 

 Walton's description, ' base vermin.' A society 

 which will stiffen public opinion in its reprobation 

 of the gangs that ravage and empty our fields will 

 do solid work." "The chief mischief," says the 

 Standard, " is done by the birdcatchers. . . . 

 It is our feathered friends of the fields, meadows, 

 and gardens that we desire to see protected from 

 the wretched prowlers who now prey on them with 

 comparative impunity." 



The Country Gentleman likewise refers to the 

 birdcatchers and the bird-dealers, but even more 

 sharply denounces the " extraordinary amount of 

 damage" done by village boys on so-called bird- 

 nesting expeditions. " They do not want or 

 attempt to collect the eggs. They seem to take 

 pleasure in merely tearing the nest from the hedge 

 or tree and throwing it on the ground. The 

 number of eggs that they destroy in a year must 

 amount to millions, and there is practically no 

 available machinery to prevent such destruction." 



The Indian edict and " murderous millinery " 

 fully share in the notice widely given to bird- 

 catching and bird-watching, and to Bird and Tree 

 Day. " If it is possible," remarks the Speaker, 

 " to prohibit the export of Indian bird-skins it 

 ought to be possible to forbid the importation into 

 this country of trophies from less enlightened 

 countries, e.g., South America. Meantime, in the 

 name of mercy, it is the duty of individuals who 

 know the facts to speak sternly to women who 

 encourage this savage trade." The Notts Guardian 

 boldly declares that " No man ought to marry a 

 woman who uses the mangled bodies of birds for 

 her own adornment, because such a woman must 

 be either thoughtless or cruel." The Draper, 

 while with the Society in its protests, " doubts 

 whether milliners can do anything to help on the 

 reform, however much they may sympathise with 

 it. They are compelled to follow the fashion.'' 

 For " the fashion " read "the trade." 



The Outlook, Saturday Review, Spectator, 

 Shooting Times, Daily Graphic, St. /utiles' s 



Gazette, Daily News, and Daily Chronicle are 

 among other London papers which take occasion 

 to speak in support of the Society's objects, and 

 Land and Water makes the practical commentary : 

 "When we consider the large field of work which 

 is open it seems almost unworthy of our nation 

 that the total income of the Society for the 

 Protection of Birds for the year should 

 amount to just under ^600." 



AUDUBON SOCIETIES. 



The reports for 1902 of the thirty-three Audubon 

 Societies established in the United States of 

 America show marked progress in the work of bird 

 protection, especially with regard to the services 

 rendered by the Wardens, who are now employed 

 in seven States, i.e., in Florida, Maine, Maryland, 

 Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Vir- 

 ginia. In the report from Virginia it is stated " it 

 is our duty to report that all the sea bird colonies 

 on the Virginia coast are making a steady gain 

 It is now impossible for plume hunters to visit this 

 coast and kill terns and gulls by the thousands, as 

 they did only a few years since ; if such an attempt 

 were to be made the plumers would have to reckon 

 with a very determined party of eight Wardens." 

 Captain Savage, the Warden of Wachapreague 

 Beach, writes : "Those who made a business of 

 killing birds in former years have been forced to 

 desist, knowing that they are watched and will be 

 brought to account if caught." 



It is interesting to notice that in January, 1903, 

 the National Committee of the Audubon Societies 

 issued the first number of their Educational Series 

 of Leaflets ; this paper treats of the night hawk 

 Among their other recent leaflets are "Feathers 

 on Hats ; six alleged fallacies by Milliners," by 

 Mr. Frank Chapman, and a 16-page pamphlet 

 which gives a list of books on birds for students 

 and the general reader. 



County Council Orders. — Since the issue of the 

 Society's report for 1902, in which a complete list of te 

 Orders in force is given, the following Wild Bird Pr 

 tection Orders have been renewed — 



County of Devon, dated Feb. 18th, 1903. 



County Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, dated Fel- 



18'th, 1903 ; and 

 County Borough of Hastings, dated Feb. 24th, 190 

 A new Order has been issued for the County of Surrey, 

 dated March 18th, 1903. It adds a large number r. 

 birds to the Schedule, gives all the year protection to 7. 

 species, and protects certain eggs. 



