70 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 6 



THE 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



— AND — 



OOLOGIST. 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



ESPECIALLY DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF 



BIRDS, 



THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



DESIGNED AS A MEANS POK THE INTERCHANGE OF NOTES 

 AND OBSERVATIONS ON BIRD LIFE. 



FRANK B. WEBSTER, Publisher, 



PAWTUCKET, R. I. 



Editor's Notes. 



Dr. Elliott Coues sailed for England, 

 May 24th, partly for the purpose of con- 

 sulting foreign libraries in furtherance of 

 his great work, the " Biography of 

 Ornithology." 



" Under which King, Beztmian V If we 

 must choose, we would call this the Coues- 

 ian period. Professor Baird belongs to 

 Natural History in general — Dr. Coues to 

 Ornithology. 



We notice with pleasure the unusual 

 number of articles which have appeared in 

 the magazines during the last few months 

 on matters Ornithological, showing an in- 

 creasing popular interest in Bird Life. 

 Among many, we refer especially to "Na- 

 ture's Serial Story " which is appearing in 

 Harper s Monthly, illustrated by many ex- 

 cellent engravings. 



Among the signs of the times are to be 

 noted the increased number of periodicals 

 which have cropped up of late on Orni- 

 thology and its associates. These appear 

 to be mostly advertising enterprises of a 

 more or less ephemeral character. They 

 will probably prove a disappointment to 

 their promoters, but in the meantime they 

 assist in frittering away the support to 



which established magazines are fairly 

 entitled. 



A very excellent panel photograph of 

 the founders and officers of the American 

 Ornithologists' Union has been sent to us 

 by A. Bogardus & Co., of New York. 

 The heads, twenty-five in number, are 

 grouped artistically, and all appear to be 

 satisfactory photographs. The general ef- 

 fect is quite equal to anything of the kind 

 usually seen, and the size of the composi- 

 tion is sufficiently large for the purpose 

 intended. 



In reference to the much agitated sub- 

 ject of Trinomials, Dr. Coues says : 

 " The definite principle and rule of action 

 is, that the third term of the technical 

 name is given to climatic or geographical 

 races, varying according to known condi- 

 tions, as latitude, elevation, temperature, 

 moisture and conditions of all sorts. The 

 practice, therefore, has a logical basis, a 

 consistent possibility of strict scientific 

 application. It appears to me to be a 

 simple, natural and easy way of disposing 

 of a large number of intermediate forms 

 which have not become sj>ecifically dis- 

 tinct from their respective allies." 



Several correspondents of the " Forest 

 and Stream " refer to the wholesale de- 

 struction of the Baltimore Oriole and 

 other bright-pluniaged songsters for milli- 

 nery purposes. However large the de- 

 mand may be, there seems to be no imme- 

 diate fear that any of our summer visit- 

 ants will be exterminated. While we 

 sympathize to a great extent with the in- 

 dignation excited, it must be borne in 

 mind that the grievance is purely senti- 

 mental. It has often been pointed out 

 that the birds of prey are far more de- 

 structive than either collectors or profes- 

 sional taxidermists. And in the nature of 

 things, so long as ornaments are required, 

 a supply will be found. If animals may 

 legitimately be slaughtered for their furs, 

 why not birds for their feathers'? 



