GENERAL INFORMATION

Migratory birds, which move across State and National borders, e recognized as an international resource requiring conservation on continental basis. Protection of migratory birds on the North merican Continent is provided for by conventions between the nited States and Great Britain (for Canada), concluded August 16, 016 (39 Stat. 1702), and between the United States and the United [exican States, concluded February 7, 1936 (50 Stat. 1311). Proction in the United States is provided by the Migratory Bird Treaty ct of July 3, 1918, as amended (40 Stat. 755; 16 U. S. C. 703). Birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and by the ternational conventions are listed in section 6.1 of the Regulations this announcement.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (sec. 2) makes it unlawful to hunt, Il, sell, purchase, or possess migratory birds except as permitted by gulations adopted by the Secretary of the Interior.

The Secretary of the Interior annually adopts hunting regulations permit a reasonable harvest of migratory game birds and leave an lequate breeding stock for subsequent years. To provide a sound sis for the regulations, each year considerable information is asmbled on current populations of birds and on numbers available for rvesting. Four surveys are made of migratory waterfowl: (1) Durg the hunting season, a hunter-success survey by questionnaires to termine the number of birds taken; (2) a survey of wintering ounds to find out how many birds are left after the hunting season: ) after the northward migration in spring. a survey of nesting ounds across the continent to measure size and distribution of eeding populations; and (4) a later breeding-ground survey to timate production of broods. With a year's accumulation of data. e Secretary sets up a framework of proposed hunting regulations, cluding season lengths, bag and possession limits, and the earliest ening and latest closing dates, within which the State game departents recommend hunting seasons best suited to conditions in their ates.

Some of the States have laws or regulations more restrictive than those in this announcement. Hunters are cautioned to consult State regulations before hunting. Addresses of State officials are listed on the last page of this announcement.

DUCK STAMPS

The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 451; 16 U. S. C. 718a) as amended July 30, 1956 (70 Stat. 722), provides that no person who has attained the age of 16 years shall take any migratory waterfowl (brant, wild ducks, geese, and swans) unless a the time of such taking he has on his person an unexpired Federal migratory bird hunting stamp (commonly called Duck Stamp), validated by his signature written across the face of the stamp in ink prior to his taking such birds. A person who has not reached his 16th birthday does not have to have a stamp. The Act defines "take" to mean pursue, hunt, shoot, capture, collect, kill, or attempt to pursue, hunt, shoot, capture, collect, or kill.

PENALTIES

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (sec. 6) and the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (sec. 7) provide for a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both, for violation of those acts or the regulations contained in this announcement.

GAME MAMMALS

The convention of February 7, 1936, between the United States and the United Mexican States regulates transportation across the United States-Mexican border of migratory birds or game mammals, dead or alive, their parts or products. Sections 6.6 and 6.7 of this announce

illegal

tions governing transportation of game mammals are contained in Part 5, Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, copies of which may be obtained from sources listed on the last page of this announcement.

ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

Regulations relating to control of depredating birds and approval of programs for development of wildlife areas on lands donated to the United States subject to reserved interests are contained in sections 6.61-6.64 and 6.71-6.73, Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, copies of which may be obtained from sources listed on the last page of this announcement.

FLYWAYS

The schedules of seasons and limits in this announcement are given according to flyways. The administrative flyways are shown on the following map.

MIGRATORY BIRD REGULATIONS

1957-58

[Adopted by the Secretary of the Interior, August 27, 1956, 21 F. R. 6596, and amended July 30, 1957, 227 R. 6224, August 13, 1957, 22 F. R. 6874, August 28, 1957, 22 F. R. 7048, and September 12, 1957, F. R.. Part 6, Chapter I, Subchapter B, Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations]

§ 6.1 Definitions of migratory birds. Migratory birds included in the terms of the conventions between the United States and Great Britain [for Canada] for the protection of migratory birds, and between the United States and the United Mexican States for the protection of migratory birds and game mammals concluded, respec

Stat. 1311), are as follows:

(a) Game birds.

(1) Waterfowl (ANATIDAE), including brant, wild ducks, geese, and

swans.

(2) Cranes (GRUIDAE), including little brown, sandhill, and whooping cranes.

(3) Rails (RALLIDAE), including coots, gallinules, and sora and other rails.

(4) Shorebirds (HAEMATOPODIDAE, CHARADRIIDAE, SCOLOPACIDAE, RECURVIROSTRIDAE, and PHALAROPODIDAE), including avocets, curlews, dowitchers, godwits, knots, oyster-catchers, phalaropes, plovers, sandpipers, snipe, stilts, surfbirds, turnstones, willet, woodcock, and yellowlegs.

(5) Doves and wild pigeons (COLUMBIDAE). (b) Insectivorous birds.

Cuckoos (including road-runner and anis), flickers, and other woodpeckers; nighthawks or bullbats, chuck-will's-widow, poor-wills, and whip-poor-wills; swifts; hummingbirds; kingbirds, phoebes, and other flycatchers; horned larks, bobolinks, cowbirds, blackbirds, grackles, meadowlarks, and orioles; grosbeaks (including cardinals), finches, sparrows, and buntings (including towhees); tanagers; martins and other swallows; waxwings; phainopeplas; shrikes; vireos; warblers; pipits, catbirds, mockingbirds, and thrashers; wrens; brown creepers; nuthatches; titmice (including chickadees, verdin, and bushtits); kinglets and gnatcatchers; robins and other thrushes.

(c) Other nongame birds.

Auks, auklets, bitterns, fulmars, gannets, grebes, guillemots, gulls, herons, jaegers, loons, murres, petrels, puffins, shearwaters, and terns. § 6.2 Definitions of terms. For the purposes of this part, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, to mean and to include:

(a) Secretary.-The Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative.