26 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. Ill 
A Bird Protection Bill for California. 
Following is a draft of the protective Bird 
Bill which was prepared by the Cooper Or- 
nithological Club, and put in legal shape by 
Senator Kdward K. Taylor of Alameda. The 
bill will be introduced in the California State 
Legislature which convened Jan. 7, by Senator 
Taylor and its successful passage is confidently 
hoped for. The bill received the endorsement 
of the California Fruit Growers’ Convention 
and numerous Granges and Farmers’ Clubs, 
and should it become a law California may 
well congratulate itself upon taking rank with 
the foremost bird protection states of the 
Union. The bill reads as follows: 
An Act to amend the Penal Code by adding 
a new section to Title XV thereof, to be num- 
bered six hundred and thirty-seven and one- 
half, providing for the protection of wild birds 
and their eggs and nests. 
The Peopee of the St.\te of C.\eiforni.\, 
ReprE-Sented in vSen.vte .\nd Assembly, Do 
En.\ct As Follows: 
A new section is hereby added to the Penal 
Code and to Title X\’ thereof, to be num- 
bered six hundred and thirty -seven and one- 
half, as follows: 
Section 6371^. Every person who shall, in 
the State of California, take, gather or destroy 
the eggs or nests of, or hunt, shoot, shoot at, 
take, kill or destroy, buy, sell, give away or 
have in his possession any wild bird (except 
tho.se species designated, generally known, and 
already jirotected as game birds), or who shall 
expo.se or have in his possession for sale, any 
part of the plumage, skin or bod}' of any bird 
so jirotectcd, except as hereinafter provided, 
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; provided 
further, that nothing in this section shall pro- 
hibit the killing of the English Sparrow at any 
time, by anybody, or prohibit the killing of 
any bird, except by means of poison, by the 
owner or tenant of any premises where such 
bird is found destroying berries, fruits or crops 
growing on such premises. 
Certificates may be granted by any incor- 
])orated society of natural history within the 
.State, through such })ersons or officers as said 
society may designate, to any projierly accred- 
ited pcr.son of fifteen years or upward, permit- 
ting the holder thereof to collect birds, their 
nests or eggs, for strictly scientific purposes 
onlv, or to keep native birds alive for study. 
The certificates authorized by this section shall 
be in force one year only from the date of their 
issue and shall not be transferable. This act 
shall take effect upon its passage. 
WWW 
A Club Presentation. 
At the meeting of the Ncrthern Division of 
the Cooper Club held in San Jose, Jan. 12, Mr. 
W. Otto Emerson retired from the presidency 
after three years of continuous service in that of- 
fice. At an appropriate moment Mr. H. R. Taylor 
arose and embodied in a brief speech the valu- 
able results which the club had accomplished 
during Mr. Emerson’s administration. As a 
token of esteem, and appreciation of his serv- 
ices Mr. Taylor, upon behalf of the Northern 
Division, presented the popular ex-president 
with an inscribed copy of Ridgway’s Manual. 
The inscription read as follows: “Presented to 
W. Otto Emerson by the Northern Division of 
the Cooper Ornithological Club of California, 
in appreciation of his valuable and energetic 
services as president through three consecutive 
terms of office, and as a tribute to his loyal 
efforts in behalf of the Club’s Bird Protection 
Bill. Jan. 12, 1901.’’ 
WWW 
Eighteenth A. O. U. Congr^.s.s. 
The Annual Congress of tbe American Orni- 
thologists Union convened in the University 
Museum at Cambridge, Mass, from Nov. 13-15. 
On the program were tw'enty titles, embracing 
many excellent and interesting subjects in 
ornithology. A number of papers were illus- 
trated by lantern slides and the session was, 
withal, one of the most interesting yet held by 
the Union. The Eighteenth Congress will be 
remembered more particularly because of the 
movement proposed to regulate the member- 
ship of the Union; the proposed action is re- 
ferred to in another column. 
The Petrel is the title of a bright 16-page 
monthly magazine on ornithology edited and 
published by John M. Martin of Palestine, 
Oreg., the initial issue bearing the date of 
January, igoi. The magazine is neatly print- 
ed, and a number of interesting articles, prin- 
cipally of an oological trend, make up the con- 
tents of the number, being supplemented with 
several interesting half-tones of nests and eggs. 
Judging from its widely-distributed list of con- 
tributors, The Petrel will not restrict itself to 
any limited field and we trust that success may 
attend its career. Mr. Martin is well known as 
former publisher of the Oregon Naturalist . 
Subscription 50 cents. 
1 ^ 
“Bird-Lore” Notice. 
I w’ish to announce that owing to Charles 
Keeler’s unexpected departure on a prolonged 
cruise in the Pacific, Lyman Belding will con- 
tinue, from the standpoint of Stockton, the 
series of articles on California bird-life of 
which Mr. Keeler had contributed one number 
to ‘‘Bird-Lore.’’ I also desire lists of extra 
numbers of “Bird-Lore’’ which subscribers 
may have for disposal. 
I'rank M. Chapman, 
Pngtezuood, N.J. Editor. 
