102 



THE OSPREY. 



THE OSPREY. 



An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Devoted 

 Exclusively to the Interests of 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



EDITED BY 



WALTER ADAMS JOHNSON. 



ASSOCIATED WITH 



ELLIOTT COUES, A. M., M. D., Ph. D. 



Subscription: In the United States, Canada and Mexico, One 

 Dollar a year, in advance. Single copies. Ten Cents. 



Foreign Subscription : One Dollar and Twenty-five Cents. Post- 

 age paid to all countries in the Universal Postal Union. 



Advertising rates sent on request. 



Notes and News of a relevant nature, and original contributions 

 are respectfidly solicited, and should be addressed to Editor^ 

 at office of publication. 



Entered at the Galesburg Postoffice as second-class mail matter. 



Copyright applied for by The Osprey Company. 



THE OSPREY COMPANY, 

 61 N. PRAIRIE ST. GALESBURG, ILI^. 



Gurney & Jackson, 1 Paternoster Row, London. 



: We take the greatest pleasure in making- the 

 announcement that Dr. Elliott Coues has con- 

 sented to become associated with Thk Ospkkv 

 as a consulting editor 



Dr. Coues in his busy life as a writer and sci- 

 entist has g-iven much aid to the devotees of 

 Ornithol(jg-y — his favorite science. For the last 

 20 years the greater number of American orni- 

 tholog-ists and bird-students have received their 

 inspiration and much of their knowledge of this 

 Subject from the invaluable hand-book which 

 bears his name. This book is probably quoted 

 more than any other work as an authority on 

 American birds. Dr. Coues was one of the 

 founders of the American Ornitholog-ists', 

 Union, and has served this organization as 

 President and as Chairman of the Committee 

 on Classification and Nomenclature. 



It is impracticable to try, in these columns, 

 to cite the many ways in which Dr. Coues is 

 known to the world. We will merelj' add 

 that he was formerly Secretary of the U. S. 

 Geolog-ical Survey, and is a member of the 

 Faculty of the National Medical College and 

 many of the foremost scientific societies of 

 America and Europe. With apolog-ies to Dr. 

 Coues we take the liberty- to quote from the 

 words we happen to know were once spoken of 

 him by a prominent official of the Smithsonion 

 Institution: "He (Dr. Coues) is one of the most 

 accomplished men in America and as a writer 

 is perhaps without an equal." The Chicago 

 Tribune, in the literary department of March 

 6 speaks of Dr. Coues as "the g-reatest of all liv- 

 ing- ornitholog-ists," and of "his long career as a 

 taxidermist and ornitholog-ist as one which has 

 left valuable results in every natural history 

 museum in the Union, and has given us his 



unrivaled 'Key to North American Birds.' " 



We feel that with this number The Os- 

 PKEV enters a new era, which, with the co- 

 operation of bird-students, will cover a g-reater 

 field of possibilities. Oitr endeavor will be to 

 make The Ospkev as a popular monthly, what 

 The Auk is as a technical quarterly. 



We hope to publish a portrait of Dr. Coues in 

 our April number. 



The report for 1896 of the American Orni- 

 tholog-ists' Union Committee on Bird Protec- 

 tion shows that effective work has been done, 

 and that in the future it will be continued with 

 increased effort. Since the publication of the 

 report an important movement has been in- 

 aug-urated in Chicag-o reg-arding- the use of 

 birds for millinery purposes; g-rowing, largely, 

 from seeds sown by the A. 0. U. Committee, 

 It is an action recentU' taken by the Chicag-o 

 Women's Club, which will take up this matter 

 for formal consideration. Complete success, 

 without legislation, will depend upon the action 

 of the women themselves; and it seems highly 

 probable that the "anti-bird" sentiment once 

 rooted in this and other influential bodies of 

 women will, eventually, do all that is necessarj^: 

 place the custom in its proper light before the 

 women, individually, who are thoug-htlessly 

 following- this fashion; the destructiveness to 

 bird life, of which, they now so little realize. 



The Michigfan Ornithological Club well ex- 

 emplifies the advanced work and the prog-ress- 

 ive spirit, that has g-iven it its reputation as one 

 of the leading; local associations, in issuing- a 

 quarterly"Bulletin," to further advance Michi- 

 g-an ornithology and for the publication of Club 

 proceeding-s. The first number dated January, 

 1897, contains three excellent papers, entitled: 

 "Prog-ress of Ornitholog-y," by T. L. Hankin- 

 son; "Michig-an Ornitholog-y to the Front," by 

 Prof Walter B, Barrows; and " I'ireoiiidcT of 

 Wayne County, Michigan," by W. A. Davidson; 

 also notes by members, editorial, and a depart- 

 ment for personal menti(jn. .\ portrait of Prof. 

 Barrows quite appropriately appears, Mr. 

 L. Whitney Watkins, the well-known ornithol- 

 ogist, is Editor-in-Chief. The names of the 

 manag-ement were mentioned in The Ospkev 

 for January. The best wishes and sincere in- 

 terest of TheOspkey are with the Club. 



Dr. A. Donaldson Smith, of Philadelphia, has 

 broug-ht home from Africa a large number of 

 specimens, including 700 birds. His book. 

 "Throvig'-h Unknown African Countries," will 

 be published this month, both in New York and 

 London. 



Dr, Coues' Column. 



If we can succeed in negotiations now pend- 

 ing, Dr Coues will contribute a department 

 under the above head, giving us little "talks," 

 interesting news, and gossip or comment on cur- 

 rent relevant events All will agree that such 

 a department contributed by Dr. Coues would 

 be a most important feature of the magazine 

 and one that alone would make The Osprey 

 worthy of subscription. 



