/j. I 2 Notes and News. \o^. 



judged from the angle at which we saw them. They were very large 

 flocks, and were unfortunately too distant to make their identity sure. 

 That they were of the goose tribe was shown by their manner of flying, 

 the V-formation being very perfect, and, as the flocks had upwards of a 

 hundred in each, the long lines were not always perfectly steady, but waved 

 slowly up and down like a blade of kelp in deep water. They may have 

 been brant, or they may have been any one of the greater ducks, but they 

 certainly were not gulls of any sort, and my belief is they were Canada 

 Geese. I am very familiar with the flight of geese, and these flocks had 

 all of the characteristics I have been accustomed to attribute to this 

 regular migrant. 



My question is, where were they bound at such an early date ? They 

 were heading into an open sea, and unless they changed their course, I do 

 not believe they would have even sighted the Azores Islands. They may 

 have been following some favorite great circle, or an upper air current not 

 recognizable from the sea level. 



The question was further brought home to me this morning (Sept. 17) 

 by seeing from my window at half past seven o'clock, at Peace Dale, R. I., 

 eight Wild Geese, near enough to be sure of, also flying south in an 

 irregular manner, as if they had begun their fall migration. The date 

 strikes me as being very early, and the suggestion of an early winter is 

 undoubtedly conveyed to those wise in weather signs. 



I should be glad if you could inquire through the columns of ' The Auk ' 

 for other notes of the southward flight of geese this year, and especially if 

 anyone can suggest the probable destination of the flocks seen at sea. 



Rowland G. Hazard, 



Peace Dale, R. I. 



NOTES AND NE^VS. 



The Nineteenth Annual Congress of the American Ornithologists' 

 Union will be held at the American Museum of Natural History, New 

 York City, beginning on the evening of Monday, November 11, 1901. The 

 evening session will be for the election of ofticers and members and for 

 the transaction of the usual routine business. Final action will also be 

 taken on the proposed amendments to the By-Laws, relating to the classes 

 of membership, as approved at the last meeting o£ the Union (see Auk, 

 Jan., 1901, p. 128). Tuesday and the following days, the sessions will be 

 for the presentation and discussion of scientific papers, and will be open 

 to the public. Members intending to present communications are re- 

 quested to forward the titles of their papers to the Secretary, Mr. John H, 

 Sage, Portland, Conn., so as to reach him not later than November 8. 



