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Bird - Lore 



trtMHore 



A Bi-monthly Magazine 

 Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 



OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THK AUDUBON SOCIETIES 



Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 

 Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 



Vol. VIII Published December 1, 1906 No. 6 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES 



Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico 

 twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, post- 

 age paid. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1906, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



Bird-Lore's Motto: 

 4 Bird in thi Btish is Worth Tivo in the Hand 



BIRD-LORE for 1907 



THREEyears ago, when Bird-Lore began 

 the publication of a series of twenty-four 

 •colored plates of Warblers, it was by no 

 means certain that the undertaking would 

 be o-iven the support needful to its success. 

 The plan, however met with a prompt and 

 practical endorsement which, now that all 

 the North American; Warblers have been 

 figured, fully warrants our taking up some 

 other group of birds. 



It is proposed, therefore, to follow the 

 Warblers with the Thrushes, and BlRD- 

 Lore for February will consequently contain 

 colored figures of the Hermit, Olive-backed 

 and Gray-cheeked Thrushes, the Eastern 

 and Chestnut-backed Blue-birds, while in 

 April the Wood Thrush, Wilson's Thrush 

 and Robin will appear. 



The small number of species in the 

 family Turdidae in connection with their 

 (as compared with the Warblers) limited 

 variations in color with age, sex or season, 

 assures the completion of this series of 

 plates in the next (1907) volume of Bird- 

 Lore. Then we expect to figure the Fly- 

 catchers, even more difficult subjects, for the 

 field student as well as the engraver, and, 

 eventually, we hope that every species of 

 North American bird will have been illus- 

 trated in color in Bird-Lore. 



We shall have some capital articles to 

 accompany the plates of Thrushes, notably 

 one by Dr. J. Dwight, Jr., on the various 

 races of Thrushes, with maps showing the 



distribution of each form ; and it gives us 

 unusual pleasure to say that Professor 

 Cooke's unequaled migration tables, based 

 chiefly on data in the Biological Survey, 

 will be continued. 



A long-cherished plan to increase Bird- 

 Lore's usefulness to teachers will also ma- 

 terialize in our coming volume. To the 

 Audubon Executive Department will be 

 added a School Department. Mr. Dutcher 

 remains in charge of the former, while Mrs. 

 Wright, to our great satisfaction, has con- 

 sented to edit the latter. Mrs. Wright will 

 be assisted by Miss Margaret Cook, of the 

 Cornell Nature Study Bureau; and under 

 this efficient and experienced management 

 it is believed that a department will be de- 

 veloped which will be of interest to children 

 as well as of value to teacheis This depart- 

 ment will be inaugurated in the next issue of 

 Bird-Lore, the first numberof the ninth vol- 

 ume, when its editors will state their plans. 



prizes for young observers 



We may announce here, however, that 

 three prizes are offered to young observers 

 of fourteen years and under, for the best 

 accounts of 'A Bird Walk in December.' 

 These essays should contain about 300 words 

 and should be sent to the editor of Bird- 

 Lore not later than December 20. 



The more irregular winter birds promise 

 to visit us in unusual numbers this season. 

 Pine Siskins and Canadian Nuthatches have 

 been generally common throughout the fall; 

 and both White-winged and Red Cross- 

 bills, Pine Grosbeaks and even Evening 

 Grosbeaks have been reported to us. The 

 occurrence in the Atlantic States of the last- 

 named, however, is so exceptional that it 

 should be recorded only on incontrovertible 

 evidence. As an aid to this end, we have 

 selected this beautiful bird as the subject 

 of Bird-Lore's Christmas Bird Plate, in 

 which it appears life-size and in colors. 



We regret the necessity of stating that the 

 photograph of a Loon published in our issue 

 for October represents not a living, but a 

 mounted bird. We should, however, add 

 that the correspondent from whom we received 

 the photograph believed it to be genuine. 



