Country Life kT By IAN NIALL I 0 ,4 OKING over the
list of birds put outside the law in the simplification of the Protection of Birds Act, 1954, which came into force at the beginning of December, I was pleased to find, when all the amendments and debates arc over, that the Act covers common public enemies. Among the offen- ders against order are the house-sparrows (they denuded my gooseberries of every bud one year), the greater black-backed gull (a ruthless killer of young chicks), starlings (they ruin good timber with their burning lime even if they do take insects in plenty), jays (butchers of all the young birds within range at nesting time) and cormorants (said to take something like a stone of fish a day and detested by the owners of fishing rights). I can nod my head at the inclusion of the carrion and hooded crows, as well as the woodpigeon and the stock- dove, even if I am sorry that the rock-dove, is an outlaw in Scotland—he might be spared, as he is in England and Wales because he is scarce. While I know that some people would put the bullfinch on the criminals' list for his work in the orchard, I think those who love ground birds will have no quarrel with the removal of the corncrake and the quail from the classification of game birds. The greatest improvement in the new Act was the standardising of protection regulations which used to vary from county to county. From now on the protectionist or shooting enthusiast knows the law in simple terms.
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