96 



BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



IN THE COURTS. 



Shetland Isles.— At Lerwick Sheriff Court, 

 on July 26th, the Commander of the French fishery 

 cruiser "Estafette" was charged with having - on 

 board his vessel seven gulls and twelve kittiwakes, 

 birds scheduled in the Wild Birds Protection Act. 

 The birds had been caught on hooks. Defendant 

 said the birds were taken for food, and he was not 

 aware that they were protected. Sheriff Broun 

 said that, if he had been able, he would have dis- 

 missed the case with an admonition ; but, as the 

 Act said some penalty must be imposed, and he 

 understood the birds were taken in a very cruel 

 and somewhat revolting manner, he would impose 

 a fine of 6d. per bird — 9s. 6d. in all. [The Act 

 authorises a fine not exceeding £1 for each bird.] 



Forfar. — Sheriff Campbell Smith, of Dundee, 

 is even more friendly to offenders than Sheriff 

 Broun, who, doubtless, wished to be lenient towards 

 foreigners. At the Dundee Court, on July 13th, 

 an artilleryman was summoned by the Scottish 

 S.P.C.A. for having three young caged thrushes in 

 his possession. He said he found them hopping 

 about the 'links and put them in a cage. The 

 Sheriff ordered him to pay 5s., but observed that, 

 perhaps, it would modify the zeal of the Society if 

 they were required to pay most of the expenses 

 (a balance of 15s. 6d) themselves. (The gallery 

 of the Court, says the " Dundee Advertiser," was 

 well filled with birdcatchers, the links being their 

 favourite hunting-grounds, and they were delighted 

 with the Sheriff's deliverance; "they recognized 

 that the worthy Judge was hitting straight at the 

 men who were rightly endeavouring to secure 

 observance of the law.") 



Cheshire.— At Birkenhead Police Court on 

 August 10th, W. Jones was fined 5s. for shooting a 

 gull, a scheduled bird. The Superintendent said 

 that owing to the extent of the practice a lady paid 

 for a constable to be placed on special duty for 

 seven days. 



Durham. — Before the Sedbergh Bench on June 

 28th, Walter H. James, of Breda House, Sedbergh, 

 was summoned for being in possession of three 

 great-tits. The nest was in the grounds of Mr. 

 Chadwick, an assistant master of Sedbergh School, 

 who was asked by a boy named de Wilde if he 

 might take the birds. Permission was refused, 

 but the nest was afterwards taken by a workman, 

 at the boy's request, and the birds found in defen- 

 dant's house. Fined is. for each bird, and costs, 

 in all ,£1 3s. 



YORKSHIRE. — The Keighley Bench, on July 

 10th, fined a hairdresser, named Maxwell, £2 2s. 

 and costs for having in his shop 22 redstarts, 2 

 skylarks, 4 thrushes, 10 flycatchers, and 4 wheat- 

 ears. The birds were stated to be taken for 

 exhibition in the show season. The West Riding 

 County Council asked for an exemplary penalty. — 

 At Bingley, on July 19th, the tenant of an allotment 

 garden was ordered to pay costs for having set 

 seven spring traps, in one of which the police found 

 a bird held by the beak, six dead birds lying near. 



Northants.— At Thrapston on June 1st a farm 

 foreman was fined £1 and 9s. 6d. costs for shoot- 

 ing a moorhen, and £1 with 6s. costs for carrying 

 a gun without a license, the Bench regretting that 

 so many scheduled birds were shot. 



Surrey. -At Kingston-on-Thames on July 27th 

 Herbert Brandon, of Thorne Road, Worthing, was 

 fined £$ is., including costs, for shooting two 

 brown owls at Avenue Elmers, Surbiton. The in- 

 formation was laid by the Chairman of the Justices, 

 Mr. W. Y. Cockburn, the birds having been shot 

 while perched on a tree in his garden, and he had 

 offered £$ for information leading to the conviction 

 of the offender (Mr. Cockburn did not adjudicate 

 in the case). Mr. J. Thornely, the acting Chair- 

 man, said the Bench considered it a disgraceful 

 and brutal offence to shoot these beautiful and 

 useful birds, which ought to be welcomed and pro- 

 tected, and defendant ought to be ashamed of 

 himself. 



Fife. — An Auchterderran farmer was fined at 

 Dunfermline Sheriff Court on July 27th for laying- 

 wheat steeped in strychnine in a turnip field. 

 The poison was intended for rooks, and killed a 

 number of domestic pigeons. 



NEW LEAFLETS. 



Fiat Justitia. A Letter to Public Schoolboys. By 

 Sir Herewald Wake, Bart. 3d. per doz., is. 96!. 

 per 100. 



Our Ally the Bird. With Illustrations. Reprinted, 

 by permission, from Pearson 's Magazine, id. each, 

 9d. per doz., 5s. per 100. 



CHRISTMAS CARD. 



The Society's Christmas Card will be published in 

 October. The Illustration will consist of one of Mr. 

 ARCHiBALDTHORBURN'scharming bird pictures, specially 

 painted for the Society, and reproduced in colour. 



A series of bird postcards, "How Birds Propose," 

 drawn in black-and-white by well-known aitists, has 

 been published by Mr. F. Finn, F.Z. S. 



Next Issue. — The next Number of Bird Notes 

 and News will be ready on Dec. 1st, 1905, and will 

 contain an Index to the first 12 numbers. 



Reading Cases for Bird Notes and News can be 

 obtained from the office at a cost of is., including 

 postage. They will be found very useful to keep the 

 numbers together, and also for use in Public Libraries. 



Bird Notes and News will be sent post free to any 

 address for is. per annum, payable in advance. 



To Members of the Society subscribing 5s. and 

 upwards per annum it will be forwarded gratis and 

 post free. 



Printed by Witherby & Co., 326, High Holborn, W.C., and 

 published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 

 3, Hanover Square, London, W., of whom copies may be obtained, 

 price 2d. each, Double numbers, 3d. 



