BIOLOGICAL STATIONS. 59 
world. Under the patronage of his Royal and Imperial Highness, 
the Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, the President of this 
Committee, Dr. R. Blasius of Brunswick, and the Secretary 
Dr. G. von Hayek, of Vienna, are endeavouring, in conjunction 
with a number of well-known ornithologists of all nations, to 
obtain a universal acceptance of the scheme. A noble rivalry 
will be kindled, and Germany must not be left behind. We have 
yet much to learn; and if everyone who knows anything of bird- 
life in his own district will send his notes on the subject, much may 
be accomplished. Observations apparently trivial may be of use, 
and find place in the Annual Report. 
We would call attention to the following instructions as a 
basis for making observations, together with those already issued 
by Herr E. von Homeyer and ourselves for Germany, and Herr 
von Tschusi for Austrian- Hungary :— 
I. Boundaries of the locality under observation.—Give, if pos- 
sible, a short description of its topographical position, with the 
exact latitude and longitude. 
II. Occurrences. — (1) What birds are you acquainted with, 
and what are their local names? (2) Which species remain the 
whole year in the same place? (3) Which species change their 
abode according to the time of year? (4) What species do you 
observe only in passing over in spring, or autumn, or at both 
seasons? (5) What species breed in your district during sum- 
mer, and leave at the approach of winter? (6) What species do 
you observe only in winter? (7) What species do you regard as 
of rare occurrence only, and what do you consider to be the cause 
of their appearance? (8) What species appear occasionally 
singly or in numbers? (9) What species appear simultaneously 
in the valleys and on the mountains; and at what height on the 
mountain are they seen? (10) Have you observed any striking 
increase or decrease in any particular species, or that the increase 
of one species is accompanied by the decrease or disappearance 
of another? Has this occurred in consequence of a change of 
conditions in the habitat of each species, or from what other 
cause? (11) Are common birds (for instance, sparrows, swallows, 
magpies, &c.), scarce in your district; if so, what reason can you 
assign for such scarcity? (12) Have you observed any summer 
birds during winter, or winter birds during summer; if so, of 
