s-marants, Petrel, Plongeons, Grebes,
Puffins, Dotterells, Alouettes de mer, Toumpierres, Gannets, Courlis et
Martin pecheur.

As far as the eggs of many of the species actually breeding in the
Islands are concerned, this Act seems to be a dead letter: the only
birds of any size whose eggs are not regularly robbed are the Herring
Gulls and Shags, and they take sufficient care of themselves; were the
Act strictly enforced it would probably be found that there would be--as
would be the case in England--a good deal of opposition to this part of
it, which would greatly interfere with what appears to be a considerable
article of food with many of the population. Probably the only
compromise which would work, and could be rigidly enforced, would be to
fix a later date for the protection of the eggs--say as late as the 15th
June; this would allow those who wanted to rob the eggs for food to take
the earlier layings, and the birds would be able to bring up their
second or third broods in peace; and probably the fishermen and others,
who use the eggs as an article of consumption, would be glad to assist
in carrying out such an Act as this, as they would soon find the birds
increase so much that they would be able to take as many eggs by the
middle of June as they do now in the whole year, especially the
Black-back Gulls and the Puffins, which are the birds mostly
robbed,--the latter of which are certainly decreasing considerably in
numbers in consequence.

This plan is successfully carried out by many private owners of the
large breeding-stations of the Gannets, Eider Duck, and other sea-birds
in the north of England and Scotland. Of course, it must not be supposed
that all the birds mentioned in the Act whose eggs are protected breed
in the Islands, or anywhere within ten or fifteen degrees of latitude of
the Islands; in fact, a great many of them are not there at all during
the breeding-season, except perhaps an occasional wounded bird which has
been unable to join its companions on their migratory journey, or a few
non-breeding stragglers.

It has often struck me that a small but rigidly collected and enforced
gun-tax would be a more efficacious protection--not only to the oiseaux
de mer, but also to the inland birds, many of which are quite as much in
want of protection though not included in the Act--than the Sea-bird
Protection Act is. I am glad to see that there is some chance of this
being carried out, for, while this