69 



Nov. 3. — Regulus satrapa, Golden-crowned Kinglet. 

 4. — J unco hiemalis, Slate-coloured J unco. 



Winter birds first seen :— 

 Oct. 19. — Acanthis linaria, Redpoll. 



20.- — Parus hudsonicus, Hudsonian Chickadee. 



29. — Lanius borealis, Northern Shrike. 

 Nov. 1. — Plectrophenax nivalis, Snowflake. 

 Dec. 22. — Pinicola enucleator, Pine Grosbeak. 



Wm. A. D. Lees, 1 ,- 7 

 John Macoun, ) Leaders - 



Ottawa, 14th March, 1890. 



During the discussion which followed the reading of the above re- 

 port, Prof. Macoun questioned the accuracy of the results obtained by 

 Mr. Lees's system of observation with an opera glass, and asked for a 

 detailed explanation of the system. Mr. Lees explained that, having 

 first acquired from a study of the commoner birds a fair knowledge of 

 the characters distinguishing the families or higher groups, each new 

 species met, having been first assigned to its appropriate family or 

 group, was carefully scrutinized with the aid of the glass, and its mark- 

 ings literally read off and compared with one after another of the 

 descriptions in the text book, till one was found to correspond with it. 

 In this way the list of unidentified species in each family was gradual- 

 ly narrowed down till it became comparatively easy to hit upon the 

 proper description at once. In many cases the bird had to be carefully 

 stalked and followed for some time, and in some it was not until it had 

 been seen on several different occasions that it was finally and satisfac 

 torily identified, the greatest care being taken to avoid mistakes. 

 Besides the text-book, recourse was also bad to the colored plates in 

 De Kay's " Natural History of New York," and to the mounted speci- 

 mens in the Geological Survey Museum. He also pointed out that two 

 persons working together, as he and Mr. N. F. Ballantyne had done 

 could give mutual assistance of great value, one holding the glass and 



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