IOO 



other birds resident and breeding within their borders, nor to 

 prevent the States and Territories from enacting laws and 

 regulations to promote and render efficient the regulations of 

 the Department of Agriculture provided under this statute. 



There is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the 

 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of carry- 

 ing out these provisions, the sum of Sio,ooo. 



Approved, March 4, 191 3. 



Issued June 23, 1913 



United States Department of Agriculture, 

 BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY— CIRCULAR NO. 93 



HENRY W. HENSHAW. Chief of Bureau 



Explanation of the Proposed Regulations for the 

 Protection of Migratory Birds 



Laws for the protection of migratory birds hitherto enacted 

 have usually provided long open seasons and have been framed 

 mainly in the interests of the hunter rather than of the game. 

 In preparing the regulations under the Federal law for the 

 protection of migratory birds (37 Stat. 847), an effort has 

 been made to reduce the open seasons to reasonable limits, 

 to provide hunting at the time of the year when game birds 

 are most abundant and in the best condition, and in all cases 

 to give the benefit of the doubt to the bird. Recognizing the 

 fact that many species of shore birds and some of the water- 

 fowl have diminished to a point where they are approaching 

 extinction, protection has been extended to several species 

 throughout the year and to others at least three-fourths of the 

 year. The preparation of the regulations was intrusted to a 

 committee of members of the Biological Survey appointed by 

 the Acting Secretary of Agriculture on March 21, 1913. The 

 members of this committee were: T. S. Palmer, Assistant 

 Chief, chairman; A. K. Fisher, In Charge of Economic Investi- 

 gations ; and W. W. Cooke, Migration Expert. The committee 

 at once took up the work of examining the data on file in the 

 Biological Survey relating to the distribution, migration, and 



