34 Presidential Address. 



Hawfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Pied Flycatcher, etc., and I 

 annually expect to hear of the Wigeon and the Tree Sparrow 

 having been found nesting in the Solway area. I will not endea- 

 vour to review tire local ornithological events of the year, as 

 this has always formed the subject of a paper by one of our 

 members in the past, but I should like to draw attention to 

 the occurrence of the Yellow-Browed Warbler (phyllosocopus 

 superciliosus) at Lockerbie on April 11th, and of the Golden 

 Oriel (oriolus galbula) near Canonbie on April 30th. I would 

 also remark the fact that the irruption of Crossbills so gene- 

 rally noticed throughout Britain this summer does not appear ro 

 have been felt with us. Another most interesting subject is the 

 life history of birds, the period required for incubation, the growth 

 of down and feathers. The study of the food of birds is one in 

 uiiich there is much yet to learn ; for example, the present vexed 

 question as to the food of the Black-headed Gull (larus ridi- 

 bundus.) The diseases of birds have never yet received adequate 

 attention, and a paper on this subject would call forth the 

 encomiums of more than local ornithologists. These subjects 

 may, perhaps, be more suitable to the open-air or field naturalist, 

 but there is plenty of scope for the book lover, or book worm, as 

 you may choose to call him. Although there are some excellent 

 lists of birds found in certain parishes of Dumfriesshire, there are 

 comparatively very few similar lists from Kirkcudbrightshire and 

 Wigtownshire. Again, throughout the three counties there must 

 be scattered many specimens of rare birds, in some towns there 

 are small collections of birds, many being un-labelled, and whose 

 history bids fair to be lost in oblivion ; catalogues of these would 

 certainly be appreciated by students of the subject in the future. 

 In old books, such as the "Gentleman's Magazine," etc., there 

 are numerous oJd records of birds, well worthy of being tabulated. 

 In this connection I may say that an ornithological index to the 

 "Zoologist" is still a desideratum. I think, ladies and gentle- 

 men, I have shewn very briefly that our subject is by no means 

 played out, and that our local ornithologists cannot say there is 

 nothing more to do. As regards Nature, the whv and wherefore 

 of what may be said to be every-day sights, in many instances still 

 remain to be explained, and I quote from the introduction to an 

 old Natural History book of 1836 : — " It is our duty to study 



