56 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 5 



THE 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



— AND — 



OOLOGIST. 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



ESPECIALLY DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF 



BIRDS, 



THEIR WESTS AND EGGS. 



DESIGNED AS A MEANS FOR THE INTERCHANGE OF NOTES 

 AND OBSERVATIONS ON BIRD LIFE. 



FRANK B. WEBSTER, Publisher, 

 PAWTUCKET, E. I. 



Migration Observations in Austro- 

 Hungary. 



Accompanying the First Yearly Keport 

 of the Committee for Ornithological Ob- 

 servation Stations in Austria and Hungary, 

 we have received an interesting letter from 

 Herr V. Bitter von Tschusi zu Schniid- 

 hoffeD. He says : - "Probably you are al- 

 ready aware that an Ornithological Con- 

 gress is to be held in April at Vienna, un- 

 der the protectorate of His Imperial High- 

 ness, the Crown-prince Kudolf. Bepresen- 

 tatives from all parts of Europe have al- 

 ready announced their intention of being 

 present, and the meetings promise to be 

 very interesting. 



Included in the programme is a discus- 

 sion of the greatest possible expansion of 

 the systematic Observation Stations, also, 

 the working up of the material coming in 

 after one jilan. If this latter could be ac- 

 complished, it would much increase the 

 value of the results. Such, as you can 

 convince yourself by an inspection of our 

 report, is the way we are proceeding with 

 our branch of the work. We arrange the 

 material received in this form, expecting 

 that after a number of years the reports 

 thus accumulated, may be worked up to- 

 gether and used scientifically. Conclu- 

 sions founded on a single year's observa- 



tions are unreliable and of no service to 

 real knowledge. Correct conclusions can 

 only be arrived at from the observations 

 of many years. I therefore think our way 

 of working is to be recommended, as thus 

 each observer can himself verify his own 

 results by those of others, as well as by 

 his own as they accumulate from year to 

 year. "When time permits, I will report 

 upon our Congress and Exhibition." 



We shall hope to receive and publish the 

 promised Keport of the Congress. It was 

 opened on the 7th of April by the Arch- 

 duke Kudolf and, to judge from the tele- 

 graphic announcement, excited much in- 

 terest. Ail ornithological exhibition at 

 which all known birds were represented, 

 together with their manner of living, gave 

 an additional interest to the proceedings 

 of the Congress. 



We are quite unable within the space'at 

 our command to do justice to the report 

 referred to. It has not been got together 

 hastily — being for the year 1882 — and ex- 

 hibits the thoroughness characteristic of 

 the German scientist. 



Besides the general report from each 

 district, a "Year's History" of each of the 

 birds concerning which observations were 

 received, is given. This occupies the 

 greater part of the volume, and contains 

 many details in regard to the more com- 

 mon varieties. Altogether 347 species are 

 mentioned, summed up in their various 

 orders — Rapaces, Cantores, &c, — the ma- 

 terial received regarding each order having 

 been edited by members of the committee 

 and others accustomed to such work. 



We can congratulate our Austro-Hunga T 

 rian co-loborers upon the completeness 

 and value of their first "Year Book." It 

 cannot fail to be an assistance to the 

 American Committee on Migration in the 

 working up of the reports they will re- 

 ceive. 



For the second volume — 1883 — it is an- 

 nounced that reports have been received 

 from 378 observers. 



