Bird Clubs in America 



I. THE NUTTALL CLUB 

 BY FRANCIS H. ALLEN 



THE Nuttall Ornithological Club of Cambridge is, I believe, the oldest 

 organization of its kind in the country, and, therefore, in spite of 

 the modesty which befits its age and experience, may very prop- 

 erly be the subject of the first of a series of articles on bird clubs. The 

 beginnings of this Club date back to 1871, when a few of the young 

 men of Cambridge, Mass., met weekly in an informal way to compare 

 notes and read ornithological literature. It was not until 1873, however, 

 that the Club was organized, taking its name from the famous ornithol- 

 ogist of the early nineteenth century, who lived in Cambridge for many 

 years. The original membership was nine, and the majority of these 

 are still well known as ornithologists, though only two, Mr. Brewster 

 and Mr. Purdie, are now resident members of the Club. The list was as 

 follows : Francis P. Atkinson, Harry B. Bailey, William Brewster, 

 Ruthven Deane, Henry W. Henshaw, Ernest Ingersoll, Henry A. Purdie, 

 William E. D. Scott, and Dr. Walter Woodman. 



This little Club was destined to make itself felt in the scientific world. 

 Its most important service to ornithology was doubtless the publication 

 of its ' Bulletin,' an interesting account of the starting of which, as well 

 as of the early history of the Club itself, was given by Dr. J. A. Allen 

 in an early number of that journal. ' The Bulletin of the Nuttall Orni- 

 thological Club ' first made its appearance May 6, 1876. It was not without 

 much preliminary discussion that so important a step was taken, and the 

 question of issuing a journal of its own for the publication of scientific 

 papers and notes had been agitated two years earlier, when the Club was 

 hardly a year old. ' The American Sportsman ' had at that time been adopted 

 as a temporary medium, but the main question had only been postponed 

 till the time was ripe for such an undertaking. ' The Bulletin,' as every 

 ornithologist knows, was immediately recognized as the leading ornitho- 

 logical journal of the United States, and it won the instant support of 

 scientific men all over the country. Its publication was continued until 

 1884, when it was succeeded by ' The Auk,' virtually the same journal, 

 and with the same editor. Dr. J. A. Allen. 



As 'The Auk' was the successor of 'The Bulletin,' so the American 

 Ornithologists' Union itself was, in a great measure, an outgrowth of the 

 Nuttall Club. On retiring from the presidency of the Union in 1890, 

 Dr. J. A. Allen said in an historical address on the A. O. U. : 



" The American Ornithologists' Union is the worthy offspring of the 

 Nuttall Ornithological Club of Cambridge, Mass. . . . [The Nuttall 



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