916 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 522. 



Charles W. Richmond, members of the 

 council. 



The ex-presidents of the union, Drs. J. 

 A. Allen and C. Hart Merriam, and Messrs. 

 William Brewster, D. G. Elliot and Eobei't 

 Ridgway are ex-officio members of the 

 council. 



Drs. Allen, Dwight, Merriam and Rich- 

 mond, and Messrs. Brewster, Ridgway and 

 Stone, were reelected ' Committee on Classi- 

 fication and Nomenclature of North Amer- 

 ican Birds.' 



Three associates were elected to the class 

 known as members, and one hundred and 

 twenty-five new associates were elected— 

 the largest number in any one year since 

 the society was founded. 



Interesting papers on the subject of bird 

 migration were presented by Professor 

 Wells W. Cooke and Dr. Louis B. Bishop, 

 and the conclusions reached seemed rea- 

 sonable. 



Mrs. Irene G. Wheelock gave a detailed 

 account of her studies, extending over 

 many years, on the regurgitative feeding of 

 nestlings. Her paper created much dis- 

 cussion. 



Mr. E. H. Forbush referred to certain 

 disappearing birds, the purple martin, 

 plover, etc., and asked that information 

 concerning them be. sent to the IMassa- 

 chusetts State Board of Agriculture. 



In his paper on the nesting habits of the 

 flamingo, Mr. Chapman exhibited most ex- 

 cellent views from photographs of the birds 

 which he had taken in the Bahamas. He 

 made many new observations there con- 

 cerning the domestic life of the species. 



Mr. William L. Finley's papers on the 

 land birds of Oregon and California and 

 the sea birds of the Oregon coast, illustrated 

 as they were by beautiful lantern slides, 

 showed what exceptional opportunities he 

 had had for studying the avifauna of the 

 Pacific region. 



Mr. Henry Oldys spoke of some interest- 



ing bird songs, and Mr. Puertes gave imi- 

 tations of bird notes and explained' the 

 habits of the birds. 



A valuable paper on the birds of the 

 sandhill region of Nebraska was presented 

 by Dr. Robert W. Wolcott. His observa- 

 tions covered a section of country but little 

 known from an ornithological standpoint. 



Rev. Herbert K. Job showed a large 

 series of lantern slides from photographs 

 of shore birds, herons and water fowl, and 

 explained the ingenious expedients to which 

 he resorted in order to secure good results. 



The report of the Committee on Protec- 

 tion of North American Birds, read by its 

 chairman, Mr. William Dutcher, gave evi- 

 dence that interest in the preservation of 

 wild bird life was not lacking at the pres- 

 ent time. 



In the absence of Professor C. P. Hodge, 

 of Worcester, Mass., so well known for his 

 successful experiments in rearing ruffed 

 grouse in confinement. Miss Helen A. Ball 

 explained a series of lantern slides show- 

 ing the development of the grouse from the 

 chick to adult plumage. She stated that 

 the young became very tame— eating from 

 the hand— and that two adult wild birds 

 placed in the enclosure with the others, 

 soon exhibited no fear, and in a short time 

 it was impossibe to distinguish them, either 

 in plumage or habits, from those raised in 

 confinement. 



Following is a list of the papers read at 

 the sessions : 



Jonathan Dwight, Je. : 'A Review of the Gulls 

 which have Light-colored Primaries.' 



Wells W. Cooke : ' An Untenable Theory of 

 Bird Migration.' 



Irene 6. Wheelock : ' Regurgitative Feeding 

 of Nestlings.' 



Louis B. Bishop : ' The Direction of Flight in 

 the Fall Migration at New Haven.' 



Heney Oldys : ' Some Interesting 1904 Bird 

 Songs.' 



Louis B. Bishop: 'The Status of Eelmhitho- 

 phila leucohi'oncliialis and Helminthophila law- 

 rencei.' 



