VOl *i919 XVI ] Notes and NeWS - 319 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



Dr. Frederick DuCane Godman, one of the original Honorary Fellows 

 of the American Ornithologists' Union, a past president of the British 

 Ornithologists' Union and famous as one of the authors of the 'Biologia 

 Centrali Americana,' died at his home in England on February 19, 1919, 

 aged 85 years. 



Dr. Godman was born on January 15, 1834, and was educated at Eton 

 and Trinity College, Cambridge. At college he met Osbert Salvin and the 

 two developed an intimate friendship which was broken only by Salvin's 

 death in 1898. There were other college friends too, all of them interested 

 in ornithology and they used to meet for comparison of notes and speci- 

 mens. This led to the formation in 1857 in the rooms of Alfred Newton, 

 of the British Ornithologists' Union. 



Entomology and Botany also engaged Godman's attention and a trip 

 with Salvin to Jamaica, Belize and Guatemala, in 1861, resulted in the 

 collecting of a large amount of natural history material. They united 

 their collections and began preparations for the great work on the natural 

 history of Central America which has been ever closely associated with 

 their names — the ' Biologia Centrali Americana ' the first parts of which 

 appeared in 1878. Godman with a corps of expert collectors visited Mexico 

 in 1888 in the interests of this work, while at various times he made trips 

 to different parts of Europe, and North Africa. He published a work on 

 the Azores in which islands he had travelled extensively and was also 

 author of numerous articles in 'The Ibis' and other scientific journals. 

 During his later life he was more interested in entomology, pursuing ex- 

 tensive studies in the Lepidoptera, but joined with Dr. Bowdler Sharpe 

 in 1907 in getting out a Monograph of the Petrels, a work which his friend 

 Salvin had always had in mind. 



Dr. Godman was deeply interested in hunting and fishing and his great 

 diversion from his more serious work was horticulture. He served both 

 as Secretary and President of the B. O. U. and was a trustee of the British 

 Museum. His death leaves but one of the original Honorary Fellows of 

 the A. O. U., Count Salvadori — W. S. 



Robert Day Hoyt, a pioneer naturalist and bird collector in Florida, 

 died at his home at Seven Oaks, near Clearwater, Florida, on November 

 23, 1918. Although never a member of the American Ornithologists' 

 Union, he possessed a wide knowledge of Florida birds and through his 

 collections contributed much to the advancement of ornithology in that 

 State. 



Mr. Hoyt was born in New York City, November 18, 1857. When he 

 was about eighteen years of age, his parents moved to Madison, New 

 Jersey. He early developed a love for the outdoors and the living creatures 



