Vol. XVII 
1900 
Report of Committee on Bird Protection. 5! 
the transition into first winter plumage (Amer. Mus. No. 29612, 
9, Arizona, Nov. 1; No. 56538, ¢, Mexico, Sept. 19, and others). 
first Winter Plumage, acquired by a complete postjuvenal 
moult excepting the two distal primaries. 
One male is in nearly full plumage (Amer. Mus. No. 35225, 
Arizona, November 20), the first and second primaries full grown, 
the third one half and the remainder of the series new except one 
or two of the proximal secondaries. Males assume the rich and 
beautiful plumage of the adult, now first being distinctly differen- 
tiated from the females which are streaked and spotted and decid- 
edly pinkish. 
first Nuptial Plumage.— There is a limited prenuptial moult 
as shown by specimens in Mr. Geo. B. Sennett’s series. 
Subsequent plumages are only repetitions of those already 
described. 
(Zo be concluded.) 
REPORE*OE THE, A. O.. U.. COMMITTEE, ON, PRO: 
TECTION OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 
THE YEAR just passed has been a most important one to those 
interested in the furthering of bird protection, particularly to the 
members of your Committee. 
During the years 1896 and 1897, largely through the personal 
efforts of Mr. Wm. Dutcher, then chairman of this Committee, 
the cause of bird protection was brought prominently before 
women’s clubs and similar organizations in all parts of the 
country, with a view to arousing a general interest in the subject 
and bringing it to the attention of the general public. The suc- 
cess which attended these efforts was shown in Mr. Dutcher’s 
reports and in the voluminous correspondence of your Com- 
mittee during the year covered by our last report. Audubon 
Societies, organized for bird protection and the encouragement of 
bird study, have sprung up on every hand, and nearly every 
