Editorially Speaking
E D I T O R I A L L Y S P E A K I N G Montevallo's Illegal Cuckoo Hunting by Brock RAY O ne of Alabama rarest song-birds can be hunted any time in the sleepy college town of Montevallo. A short drive south of Birmingham, and home of the well-respected University of Monteval-lo, city fathers here granted a long standing open killing season status on the cuckoos. Sightings of the either of the state's cuckoo species, the black-billed cuckoo and yellow-billed cuckoo, are relatively rare as experienced bird watchers in the region attest. It is quite the puzzle why these birds are not protected within the city limits of Montevallo. However, here are the pub-lished city ordinances: ARTICLE III. BIRD SANCTUARY; Sec. 4-61. Unprotected birds.; .... cuckoos, are not protected by the bird sanctuary pro-visions of this Code and may be killed in any legal manner at any time. (Code 1982, ยง 4-22; Ord. of 12-9-1934; Ord. of 2-27-1946; Ord. No. 92K, 12-14-1992) One has to believe it is an oversight of some sort. Until then Alabama cuckoos, it is probably a good idea to fly anywhere but in Montevallo. It all seems a bit cuckoo, eh? n www.42outdoors.com