THE OSPREY. 



173 



THE OSPREY. 



An llliwitmt«><] Magazine of Popular ( Irnithology. 



Published MoDthly. 

 By 



THE OSPREY COMPANY. 



Edited by Theodore Gill and Paul Bartsch, in collabo- 

 ration with Robert RidKway.LeonhardSiejneger, Frederic 

 A. Lucas, Charles W. Richmond. William Palmer and 

 Harry C Oberholser of Washington, and Winner Stone of 

 Philadelphia 



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NnVlvMIIKRAND DECEMBER 1901. 



Comments. 



the nineteenth congress of the american 

 ornithologists' union. 



Another year has come and gone, and again 

 the Ornithologists of the American Union have 

 assembled in annual congress. Their meetings 

 were held in the halls of New York City's great 

 museum,— a museum, by the way. that stands 

 already among those of all most famous, — where 

 so many times before they have enjoyed the 

 hospitality of the museum authorities, and the 

 genial cordiality of the custodians of its orni- 

 thological treasures, who, together with the 

 other members of the New York contingent, 

 have always contributed so much to the pleas- 

 urable attractiveness of these gatherings at 

 the metropolis. 



On the evening of the eleventh of November 

 the active members convened for the transac- 

 tion of annual business. All the officers of the 

 past year were reelected, and a change in the 

 character of membership, previously proposed, 

 was discussed and effected. This provides for 



the creation of a new class, between the active 

 members and the associates, to be composed of 

 those now among the associate list who are most 

 active in ornithological work. Those formerly 

 known as active members, will now be called 

 Fellows; those of the new rank, Members; the 

 Associates as before. Five of the six vacancies 

 in the limited list of fifty Fellows were filled by 

 the following elections: Dr. T. S. Palmer and 

 Prof. F. E. L-. Beal, both of Washington, D. C; 

 Mr. Outram Bangs, of Boston, Mass.: Mr. Joseph 

 (irinuell, of Palo Alto. Cal.; and Dr. Louis B. 

 Bishop, of New Haven, Conn. The number of 

 Members, in the new classification, is to be 

 limited to seventy-five, all but twenty of which 

 were selected at this meeting. 



For three days, beginning on Tuesday the 

 twelfth of November, there were regular morn- 

 ing sessions of the Union at 11 o'clock, and in 

 the afternoons at 2. the time, as is customary, 

 being devoted almost entirely to the presenta- 

 tion and discussion of scientific papers. 



( hi the first of these days Prof. H. C. Bumpus, 

 on behalf of the President of the Museum, in a 

 brief but very happy address, welcomed the 

 members assembled and extended the freedom 

 of the institution; to which a fitting reply was 

 made by the President of the Union. Dr. C. Hart 

 Merriam. Following this. Dr. J. A. Allen pre- 

 sented a paper on "The Present Outlook for 

 Stability in Nomenclature;" Dr. J. Dwight. Jr.. 

 one on "The Plumages of the American Gold- 

 finch"; and Mr. F. M. Chapman spoke "On 

 Methods in Museum Bird Exhibits". Succeed- 

 ing the midday adjournment, as on all three 

 davs, the members of the Linnaean Society of 

 New York entertained the Union at luncheon. 

 In the afternoon the subjoined papers occupied 

 the time: "The White-winged Crossbill in Cap- 

 tivity" by Mr. James H. Hill; "Some Impres- 

 sions of Texas Birds" by Messrs. Louis Agassiz 

 Fuertes and Harry C. Oberholser; "Ornitho- 

 logical Notes from Northern New Hampshire" 

 by Judge John N. Clark; and "Routes of Bird 

 Migration Across the Gulf of Mexico" by Prof. 

 W. W. Cooke: the last, in the absence of the 

 author, read by Dr. T. S. Palmer. 



On Wednesday morning. November 13. the 

 following formed the program: "The American 

 and European Herring Gulls" by Dr. J. A. Allen; 

 "Auduboniana" by Mr. Ruthven Deane; "The 

 Moults and Plumages of the North American 

 Ducks" by Dr. J. Dwight, Jr.: "Se\en New 

 Birds from the United States" by Dr. Edgar A. 

 Mearns. In the afternoon there were three 

 papers, all illustrated by lantern slides: "A 



