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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



Congress enacted the Federal Migratory 

 Bird Law, and it is interesting to recall 

 that the members of the committee 

 which prepared the regulations for car- 

 rying it into effect were Fellows of the 

 American Ornithologists' Union. Fi- 

 nally in 1916 a treaty for the protection 

 of migratory birds in the United States 

 and Canada was concluded by the 

 United States and Great Britain, fol- 

 lowed in 1918 by an act of Congress and 

 the regulations necessary for carrying it 

 into effect. In these negotiations mem- 

 bers of the Union again took an impor- 

 tant part. Thns in thirty-four years 

 the work of applied ornithology orig- 

 inated by the committee on bird pro- 

 tection has developed in one direction 

 into that of the National Association of 

 Audubon Societies, a permanently en- 

 dowed corporation, and in the other has 

 found expression in the form of state 

 and Federal laws and also in an inter- 

 national treaty covering migratory 

 birds from the Gulf of Mexico to the 

 Polar Sea. 



The American Orxitiiologists' 



UXIOX AXD THE WOKLD WaR 



Like other national organizations the 

 American Ornithologists' Union is tak- 

 ing its part in carrying on the great 

 World "War. It has invested in Liberty 

 Bonds, it has members in several 

 branches of the military and naval ser- 

 vice, and its members at home are as- 

 sisting in war work with the Eed Cross 

 and in various other ways. Those mem- 

 bers who have joined the colors are 

 exempt from dues during the war. and 

 to provide for these uues a fund is being 

 raised by special contributions. After 

 the war, this fund will become part of 

 the permanent endowment fund and 

 the income will be available for puljli- 

 cations. 



Xearly 10 per cent of the member- 

 ship, exclusive of the Foreign Members, 

 is already in military service, and the 

 proportion is likely to be greatly in- 

 creased in the near future. The men 



are in all ranks from private to colonel 

 in the Army and from seaman to lieu- 

 tenant in the Navy. Many are now in 

 France, some in the American Expedi- 

 tionary Forces, and some in the Cana- 

 dian Expeditionary Forces, while others 

 are in training camps and cantonments 

 in this country, eagerly awaiting an 

 opportunity to go to the western front. 

 ]\Iost of them are in the infantry, artil- 

 lery, or medical corps but others have 

 been detailed to special duty for which 

 they are peculiarly fitted by previous 

 training. Destroying rats in the 

 trenches and in quartermasters' stores, 

 examining recruits for hookworm, car- 

 ing for birds in the pigeon service, act- 

 ing as gun pointer in a naval crew on a 

 merchant vessel, sighting rifles in an 

 arms factory, and assisting in camou- 

 fage experiments are only a few of the 

 actual duties performed by ornitholo- 

 gists in connection with the war. Let- 

 ters from some of the men indicate 

 that their interest in birds remains 

 unabated, notwithstanding the serious 

 work in which they are engaged, and re- 

 quests have been received even from the 

 trenches for pocket handbooks in Eng- 

 lish containing descriptions of birds 

 likely to be met with in France. But 

 whether at home or over there, whether 

 detailed to the aviation corps, on the 

 seas, or in the trenches, A. 0. U. men 

 are finding their field experience and 

 their habits of observation acquired in 

 pursuit of science of the highest service 

 in the grim work of war. 



What of the Future ? 



While reviewing its past record with 

 pardonable pride, the LTnion may well 

 feel confident that the future offers op- 

 portunities for even greater accomplish- 

 ments. With an adequate endowment, 

 an enlarged field of publication, and a 

 membership of several thousand, in- 

 cluding workers in every branch of 

 technical and applied ornithology, the 

 American Ornithologists' Union will be 

 in a position to advance the study of 



