1889. ] Sctentific Socteties. 199 
most respects excellent. There are upwards of four hundred species, 
which Mr. Sclater divides into -four sub-families, as follows; 
1, Tzniopterine; 2, Platyrrhynchine; 3, Elaineine; 4, Tyrannine. 
Specimens illustrating the great variation in the appearance of the Fly- 
catchers were shown and their peculiarities and relation to one another 
explained by Mr. Allen. Some of Tzniopterinz resemble Thrushes, 
Wagtails, and some of the Wood Warblers, while some of the Elaineinz 
show wonderful variation in the length of wing of the same species, 
and also in the form and size of the bill. Why Mr. Sclater has removed 
Sayornis phebe from among its relations, S. x¢7gr7cans and S. sayz, among 
the Tzniopterinz, and placed it ina genus by itself among the Tyrannine, 
is not clear to American students. 
Fanuary 4, 1889.—Mr. George B. Sennett, President, in the chair. 
Mr. Frank M. Chapman read a paper entitled ‘Remarks on the Northern 
Limit of the Carolinian Fauna on the Atlantic Coast.’ Selecting nine spe- 
cies representative of Carolinian birds regularly occurring in or near the 
valley of the Hudson, the various northern records of these species were 
taken as a basis for some generalizations fully supported by the facts. 
The species selected were: 1, Empidonax acadicus ; 2, Corvus osstfra- 
gus ; 3, Stelgidopteryx serripennts ; 4, Helmttherus vermivorus ; 5, Hel- 
minthophila pinus ; 6, Geothlypis formosa ; 7, Icterta virens ; 8, Seturus 
motacilla; 9, Sylvania mitrata. One of them, Sezurus motacilla, occurs 
as far up the Hudson as Albany, while most of the others have not been 
noted beyond Sing Sing. Most of them are found to be more or less 
common in Connecticut, while on Long Island they are with a few 
exceptions rare; thus indicating that while the Hudson Valley and 
southern Connecticut are distinctly tinged with the Carolinian fauna, 
Long Island has but little claim to such relationship. Mr. William 
Dutcher’s evidence on this point supported Mr. Chapman’s remarks, 
which were freely discussed by members of the society. Dr. L. B. 
Bishop supplied information bearing upon Carolinian species in Connecti- 
cut. He also spokeof a specimen of Ammodramus princeps taken in 
Connecticut ten miles from the sea. 
Mr. Dutcher spoke of the great scarcity of birds this winter as noticed 
by his correspondents on Long Island. 
Mr. Chapman knew of several Tachycineta bicolor seen and killed bya 
gunner near Englewood on December 31, about 1881. The day was 
warm. He referred to the habit this species has of feeding upon bayberries. 
Dendroica coronata also feeds upon them, and last winter, when the ber- 
ries were abundant, this species was seen by him throughout the whole 
season independent of the weather, while this year none were to be 
found, and on examining the locality frequented last year by the birds he 
noticed that the crop of berries was small and the berries themselves bad. 
From this he was led to infer that the past unusually wet season may have 
rotted the seeds of the weeds upon which winter birds largely feed, and 
that this would account for their scarcity now. 
Mr. L. S. Foster spoke of an unusual flight of Killdeer Plover (<4 g7al- 
