Bird Clubs 295 



residents and regular winter visitants in different 

 parts of the country, but forms a record of those 

 occasional flights of crossbills, redpolls, pine 

 grosbeaks, and other birds which in many places 

 are seen but once in several years. The plan 

 adopted in taking this census is very simple. 

 It consists of going out for a walk at any time on 

 Christmas Day, and jotting down in a note-book 

 the kinds of birds we have seen and the number 

 of individuals of each kind. We should also 

 jot down the time we started, the time we re- 

 turned, whether the day was clear, cloudy, or 

 snowy, the direction and strength of the wind, 

 and the temperature. We should write the cen- 

 sus very plainly and mail it that very night, 

 if possible, to the Editor of Bird Lore, American 

 Museum of Natural History, New York City. 

 As there will be scores of other bird students 

 sending in lists, it is necessary, in order not to 

 overburden the busy editor, to make out our 

 list exactly as he asks us to. Then it can be 

 published in the next issue of Bird Lore just as 

 we send it in. A census from my own village, 

 for instance, should read about like this: 



Meriden, N. H. 



Time, 8.30 A.M. to 12.45 P.M. Clear; wind, 

 northwest, very light; temperature, 15 degrees. 



