United States v. Harvey W. Van Fossan

EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge.

This case is for the birds: migratory birds, protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 703-11. Springfield’s city fathers concluded that too many pigeons were congregating at a vacant lot near Harvey Van Fossan s home, and they told him to get rid of them. He did, first by shooting them and then, to take care of the nimble ones, by spreading corn and wheat suffused with strychnine. Two common grackles and two mourning doves arrived and learned that there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Their bodies were found nearby and shipped to the Smithsonian…