Occa/nnKtl ]S()I('S. 47 



Buildings on the evening of the 12tli, and on the morning of; 

 the 18th Dr. Sharpe read a Presidential Address on the origin 

 and progress of tlie national bird-collection in the British 

 Museum. In the afternoon, meetings of Sections I. and IV. 

 were opened, and interesting papers read by different members: 

 Dr. R. Blasius, of Brunswick, on Methods of Nomenclature ; 

 Dr. Louis Bureau, of Nantes, on the lioseate Tern [Sterna 

 dougalli, Mont.) on the coast of Brittany ; and Graf von 

 Berlepsch, of Berlin, on some new Neotropical Birds. In 

 the IVth Section, papers on Bird Protection in Great Britain 

 and Australia were i-ead by Mr. T. Digby Piggott and 

 Sir John (^ockburn respectively. 



On the 14th, the principal papers were those of Mr. F. B. 

 Chapman, of the United States, on Museum Collections of 

 Birds ; Dr. Dwight, of ihe United States, on colour changes 

 due to abrasion ; Dr. Leverkiihn, of Bulgaria, on the 

 nesting of the Egyptian Vulture and the Imperial Eagle ; 

 Herr Otto Herman on Bird -Migration ; Mr. Pycraft on 

 Nestling Birds and their relation to evolution ; and Padre 

 Ernesto Schmitz, of Madeira, on the Birds of that island. 



A conversazione was held in the evening at the Natural 

 History Museum, South Kensington. Thursday, the 15th, 

 was occupied by a visit to Tring, the country seat of the 

 Hon. Waiter liothschild, whose Museum is one of the finest 

 private establishments in the world. The host lectured on 

 "Extinct and Vanishing Birds," illustrated by specimens 

 contained in his collections. 



On the 16th, Mr. Bonhote, of Cambridge, England, read a 

 paper on the hybridisation of Ducks ; Dr. Hartert one on the 

 Principal Aims of Modern Ornithology ; and Dr. Wilson one 

 on the Birds of the Antarctic. In the afternoon the Lord 

 Mayor of London held a reception at the Mansion House, 

 and in the evening the British Ornithologists' Union enter- 

 tained the Foreign Members of the Society at dinner at the 

 Frascati Restaurant 



On the 17th, Mr. Bruce read a paper on the Scottish 

 Antarctic Expedition ; other papers were also read by 

 Mr. D. Seth-Smith on Aviculture ; Dr. Penrose, on behalf of 



