The Geography of Bird Study. 
O. A. STEVENS, FARGO, N. D. 
Some time ago the writer undertook to make a brief survey 
of the work which was being done by the various organizations 
interested in bird study and protection. The present article 
is an attempt to show the relative interest in birds in differ- 
ent parts of the United States and to offer some reasons for 
such distribution. A tabulation of the reports in Bird Lore 
for December 1917, supplemented by those of 1918 and 1921 
gives the following result: 
LOM 1918 ~ A928 
State Audubon societies sending’ reports______ 20 17 14 
State Audobon societies affiliated but not 
PEP OM INO ee eee Ney Re aa EE 6 6 8 
Liecel -clibs sending: reportso=-— = = 42 42 AQ 
Local clubs affiliated but not reporting____--~_ 53 a2 76 
The reports for three years are included as a check on 
the general trend of the data, rather than for a comparison 
of the three years. The distribution of these among the dif- 
ferent states is shown on the accompanying map, but in order 
to simplify the details, the number of affiliated clubs for 
1921 only is represented. The result may not be quite accurate 
but is certainly a general index to the interest in birds. 
Nine states are entirely blank and about an equal number 
nearly so. Barely one-half have a state organization. The 
question arises, what is the function of a state organization, 
and what is its relation to the local clubs. In some, notably, 
New York, we see a fine development of the latter without 
the former. Probably different conditions would be met 
equally well by diverse organizations. It seems to the writer 
that the local club is the natural and necessary source of 
interest but that there should be a real place for the state 
association in uniting these. The number of organizations 
for 1921 shows an increase in fourteen states and a decrease 
in eight as compared with 1917, but the difference is small 
in most cases. 
The distribution of Junior Audubon members provides a 
‘second and different method of estimation. Of the 18 states 
