92 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 6-No. 12. 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



OOLOGIS T 



A MONTIfLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED 

 TO THE STUDY OF BIKD8, THEIR NESTS AND EGGS^. 



JOS. la. WAUE, Kilitar, 



S. L. WILLA.ro, Assistant, 



With llie c 1 operation of alile OinilhologicMl 

 Writers and Colitctors. 



Subscription — $1 00 per (innntn. Foreign snb- 

 scriptioii $ 1 . '35 — including postage. Spcci- 

 , men Copies Ten Cents. 



aOS. Jfl. tVAItE. 



Norivicli, r"on' 



Entered at Noriciuh P. 0. as Second Clasn matter. 



EDITOltlAL. 



Our Present Volume 



will close with this number, and every 

 subscription will then expire. This is a 

 new departure in magazine publishing 

 which avoids book-keejjing. We believe 

 the rising generation of ornithologists need 

 just such a magazine — one they can under- 

 stand. Our efforts have been ably pec(;nded 

 by some of our best ornithologists, which 

 gives us encouragement to continue in the 

 good work. It has been a lalior oi love to 

 us although accomplished late into the 

 night. Our regular ' duties aie very t-x 

 cessive, averaging not less than elevt-n hours 

 per day, including twelve miles of dnving 

 every working day, and one or two entire 

 nights' travelling every week. We mention 

 this to show our readers under what diffi- 

 culties our magazine has been issued. We 

 have bad three different printers and sadly 

 hampered and annoyed by all; more than 

 doubling the labor, and by lack of prompt- 

 ness no doubt prevented our subscription 

 list from increasing. The present volume 

 has been far from self-sustaining but the 

 deficiency we have borne cheerfully; but for 

 the coming volume we must ask your assist- 

 ance in getting additional subscribers. We 

 shall print a larger edition and expect to 

 place them all. A little exertion by every 

 subscriber will give us the support necessary 



to produce a better volui7ie. During the 

 publication of the last three numbers we 

 have received more praise and encourage- 

 ment than at any time previously. We are 

 advised by many to double its present size, 

 which is very desirable but not advisable at 

 present, as the support will not warrant it. 

 We have plenty of unjuiblished matter, and 

 a large mine of unpublished Mss. and draw- 

 ings, refi-rring to Wilson, Audubon, Nut- 

 tall and others, to draw from, and we only 

 await a support (that will warrant enlarg- 

 ing) enough to pay the cash outlay, and we 

 will attend to the test. No cornmercia 

 publisher could, or wouid, produce such a 

 journal as we can if prop>.'rly supported. 

 Renew at once and solicit one or more 



to join you. 



♦♦• 



" Fork-tailed Flycatcher." 



Our article last month on this rare Fly- 

 catcher had no !-ooner been mailed than 

 we began to receive letters calling attention 

 to the fact that a serious mistake had been 

 made. I'he article came to us as Fork- 

 tailed Flycatcher \Milvuliis forficatiis), 

 a mixture of names, and we si wrote Mr. 

 Nchrling, but the article was published be- 

 fore his reply reached us. We much regret 

 such mistakes, and to show our readers the 

 importance of exercising great care, we pub- 

 lish the criticisms as received elsewhere. 

 As we are commencing a new volume let us 

 all exerciso great care and see if we cannot 

 get through twelve numbers without the 

 word "Correctioii" appearing in volume VII. 



"The Coues Check list 



of North American Birds (second edi- 

 tion), with a Dictionary of the Etymology, 

 Orthography and Orthoepy of the Scientific 

 Names revised to date and entirely re-written 

 by the author (1882) " It is generally un- 

 derstood that we can have but one check- 

 list and the one emanating from the Smith- 

 soriian will be the recognized list. This is 

 not a matter of choice, but of necessity. If 

 the list before us was merely a changing of 



