Records of AIeetings 221 



Announced Program 



Mr. Howard H. Cleaves gave a lecture on The Gulls of New York 

 Harbor, illustrated by lantern slides made largely from his original 

 photographs. 



The meeting then adjourned. 



Meetings of the Sections 



section of natural science 



The Section held one meeting — the annual meeting — on Saturday evening 

 April 14, 1917. 



The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Mr. Charles W. Leng. 



Present : William T. Davis, Arthur HoUick, Howard H. Cleaves, and 

 Harold K. Decker. 



The minutes of the meeting of April 8, 1916, were read and approved 

 as read. 



The election of officers for the ensuing year resulted in the reelection of 

 Charles W. Leng as chairman and Howard H. Cleaves as recorder. 



Mr. William T. Davis read a paper on the Tabanidae of Staten Island 

 (see this issue, p. 201) and exhibited a complete collection of the Staten 

 Island species thus far captured, also certain species from other localities 

 for comparison. 



Mr. Davis also presented a cutting from a chestnut sapling infected 

 with chestnut blight, Diaporthc parasitica Murr., by which it was girdled 

 for a distance of about three inches. The red coloration of the infected 

 area made it a conspicuous mark in its natural environment. 



Mr. Charles W. Leng read a paper on Some Beetles of a Staten Island 

 Garden (see this issue, p. 204). 



Mr. Harold K. Decker presented brief notes on local ornithological 

 observations made during the year 1916 as follows : A breeding pair of 

 killdeer, OxyccJms v. vocifcrus (Linn.), the second pair recorded from 

 Staten Island, was seen near Field's dairy farm, West New Brighton. A 

 whip-poor-will, Antrostomns v. vociferns (Wils.), probably one of a 

 breeding pair, remained throughout the nesting season in the vicinity of 

 Willow Brook. A pair of redheaded woodpeckers, Mclancrpes erythro- 

 ccphalus (Linn.), nested in the vicinity of Myer's Corners, West New 

 Brighton, as they had done in several previous seasons. A nest of a 

 black-billed cuckoo, Coccy;::us eryfhrophthalmus (Wils.) containing seven 

 eggs and one nestling was found at Westerleigh. An instance of what 

 seemed like unmistakable evidence of polygamy among redwinged black- 

 birds, Agclaius p. phoeniceus (Linn.), was observed near Gifford's Lane, 

 Great Kill. Two nests were found in a small swamp, one containing four 

 eggs, the other three young about three days old. Protracted watching 

 failed to disclose the presence of more than one male bird and two 

 females. 



