106
The Bi tls' Protection Act of 1900 was a marked advance over the act of 1386. anti in several respects bears a close resent- blance to our A, O. U. model law, espe~ cially in grouping the birds under three ‘schedules.‘ Birds mentioned in the first schedule protected throughout the year, those in the second schedule (corre— sponding to our game birds) were protected during certain close seasons, while those in the third schedule were excepted from protection.“e In order to mention by name the various birds which were protected throughout the year and still avoid an un- lluly long list, Gould’s 'Handhook to the Birds of Australia' was adopted as the othcial guide. and the common name. ac- ('umpnnicd by the lamily designation and the inclusive species Gould, given in each case. It is interesting to notice that this list contains. among others, On _. I es. Herons Egrets, Sea Gulls anti Tcrns of all species. Birds, native or imported, which were not men-
we re
numbers used by
were
tioned in the first or third schedules were included with game birds, and accorded a special close season extending front July 1 to December 21. The excepted list in the act of r885 was modified by omitting Black Magpies and Sparrows and adding Hawks, English House-Sparrow ,English Starlings and English Chaffinches. Why the Snipe was excluded from protection is not evi- dent. but the fact that three of the other ten groups were introduced birds ltwo of which are now excluded by law from the United States) is a significant commentary on ill-advised efiorts at acclimatization of foreign birds, Not only the English Sparrow and the StarlingI but even the Chatiinch has increased so rapidly in South Australia as to become injurious and is regarded as unworthy of protectiont
Like the A. O. U. law. the Birds‘ Pro- tection Act prohibits posse export of birds or eggs, provides for keeping hirds in captivity and for collecting tar stientilic purposes under permits issued by the Commissioner of Crown Lands on the recommendation of the Director of the South Australian MuseuitL In some re»
ion, sale and
- unnn proclamation ol titt- eon-rum, any bird» could
be ltnll~lt'lrrll from true si-ln-rinlr tn .slmtht't
Bird - Lore
spects it goes even farther than our laws, for it prohibits sale or otiering for sale “any skin or feather of any protected birdI or an,- article mat/t [here/rum. or in which the same shall be used." and makes re— fusal. on the part of any person violating the law, to disclose his true name and address, punishable like other offences against the act. It also contains an inter- esting provision to thc efiect that the governor may. by proclamation published in the ‘Government Gazette,’ “make an order declaring that any portion of the Crown lands. or any public reserve, or the seashore or any part thereof. shall be a bird-protection district."
It is evident that laws like these could not have been passed unless there was a strong protection, and this is also shown by the fact that, upon the passage of the act of r900. large hand~bills, conta rig a list of the protected birds, were dist buted, through the illinister of Education, to all the public schools, and, through the Commissioner of Crown Lands. to all the post offices, police stationS. This favorable puhlic sentiment has been largely created through the efiorts ot the Society for the Protection of Birds and the South Australian Ornithological Associa- tion. The former, a branch ot the English Society for the Protection of Birds, was founded in 1394. and in 190l had a mem— bership of no”. its headquarters are at Adelaide, and its secretary is Mrs. John Playford, ‘Tlte Willows,‘ Mitchan, Ade- laide, South Australia. annual reports showing the progress of its work. The South Australian Ornithological Association, while primarily devoted to advancing the interests of ornithology in general, also devotes attention to bird-pro- tection, and at the second annual meeting of the Australian Ornithologists‘ Union, in November. r902, took an active part in the to secure of more uniform bird laws throughout southern Australia. Nowhere in the southern hemi~ sphere has more active interest been dis. played, and nowhere have more practical re- sults in hirdrprotection been accomplished, titan in South Australia—Tr S, PALMER.
local sentiment in favor of bird»
institutes and district councils.
It has issued seven
effort the enactment
