168 



THE OOLOGIST 



to associate with some particular bird, 

 has not been changed since the last 

 issue, and they likewise fearsomely 

 glance through page after page of 

 the current issue lest they find some 

 well known bird friend has been ruth- 

 lessly slaughtered, split, quartered 

 and divided and sub-divided into an 

 endlessly confusing variety of imagery 

 races and sub-species, since they last 

 read anything concerning that par- 

 ticular bird. 



No, Bro. Editor, The Oologist with 

 all of its crudeness and lack of time 

 on the part of its editor to give it the 

 attention that it really deserves, re- 

 ceives hundreds of commendatory 

 communications from its "silent audi- 

 ence" of subscribers every year. A 

 very large number of these come 

 from some of the best known bird 

 students, observers and collectors in 

 America; this because, we believe in 

 giving to the common everyday in- 

 dividual who helps support this publi- 

 cation, something for his money that 

 he can really read and understand. 



It is more important to know a bird 

 when you see it — know what its habits 

 are, what it feeds on, where it nests, 

 and where it goes for the winter, than 

 it is to know each one of a half a 

 dozen names that have been applied 

 to this same bird, on which one was 

 last used. 



Science is supposed to be an ab- 

 stract certainty in its last analysis. 

 Yet in American Ornithology it is 

 gradually degenerating into a positive 

 uncertainty and a general changeable- 

 ness, which truly appalls the lavman, 

 and which confuses the very best of 

 our modern systemists. 



Witness; the list of the so-called 

 new species, sub-species and varieties 

 of birds lately published in The. Con- 

 dor, and charged against the various 

 originators thereof, and finally re- 

 duced to a score card basis, in which 



each describer was credited with a 

 certain number of successful descrip- 

 tions, and with a certain number of 

 unsuccessful descriptions, with which 

 he has muddied the waters of our or- 

 nithological literature. — R. M. B. 



GETTING FARTHER AWAY 



The editor of The Condor an- 

 nounces "The Phenomenon of Ai- 

 binoism among the birds is now so 

 well known that we doubt the value 

 of printing further records of Al- 

 binos. Indeed, we do not invite 

 further contributions to this maga- 

 zine of such records unless they are 

 accompanied by observations of some 

 significance, such as upon the be- 

 havior of other birds towards abar- 

 rent individuals or upon the results 

 of their breeding." 



We fear The Condor is becoming 

 so extremely and technically scien- 

 tific that many of its readers will 

 join the "silent audience" referred to 

 in this issue in our comment upon 

 the observations of the editor of The 

 Auk. 



To our mind the keeping of a con- 

 tinuous record of all known observa- 

 tions of Albinos would ultimately lead 

 to some knowledge on the subject as 

 to which species where most likely to 

 be afflicted with Albinoism. And pos- 

 sibly the percentage of such in- 

 dividuals in the several species might 

 be approximated, likewise the geo- 

 graphic territory in which such Al- 

 binoism might most likely be looked 

 for, and this might possibly lead to 

 some information or suggestion as to 

 what was the cause: climate, feed or 

 what? 



The columns of The Oologist are 

 open to those desiring to record in- 

 dividual observations of this kind, 

 in fact we invite them. — R. M. B. 



