ig6 



Bird -Lore 



held the fork, but without restraint, he 

 "was carried across two rooms and down 

 a flight of stairs, where a large packing 

 box was made ready for his accommoda- 

 tion, but the plan proved a failure, for in 

 the morning he was found dead. It was 

 thought that he was injured by a severe 

 choking received the preceding day while 

 his captor was inducing him to give up 

 his grip on the English Sparrow, and 

 death was believed to have resulted from 

 this cause. — Ellen E. Webster, Frajik- 

 lin Falls, N. H. 



[Mrs. Webster's exceedingly interesting experi- 

 ence should dispose of the absurd theory that 

 Shrikes impale their victims in pure cruelty, it 

 being evident, in this instance, at least, that the 

 combination of a raptorial bill and feeding habits, 

 in connection with passerine feet, which are ap- 

 parently not adapted to grasping prey, forced the 

 bird to fasten his food to something before he 

 could tear it into edible pieces. — F. M. C] 



American Ornithologists' Union 



The Eighteenth Congress of the Ameri- 

 can Ornithologists' Union was held in 

 Cambridge, Mass., November 12-15, 1900. 

 The attendance of active and associate 

 members and the public was larger than at 

 any previous Congress, the audience at 

 times numbering between two and three 

 hundred. 



In addition to the interest aroused by 

 the papers presented, a list of which is 

 printed on another page, the hospitality of 

 the Cambridge members greatly increased 

 the enjoyability of the meeting and at the 

 same time afforded opportunity for that 

 social intercourse which is so important a 

 part of conventions. 



On the evening of the 15th, Mr. Edward 

 Waldo Emerson lectured to the members 

 of the Union on his personal recollections 

 and estimate of Thoreau, at the residence 

 of Mr. Brewster, and the following day, 

 after this admirable prelude, a number 

 of the members, under Mr. Brewster's 

 guidance, visited many of the places about 

 Concord which Thoreau has made so 

 familiar to all nature lovers. 



At the business meeting of the Union, 

 held at Brewster's Museum on the even- 

 ing of the i2th, the following officers were 



elected for the ensuing year : President, 

 C. Hart Merriam ; vice-presidents, Charles 

 B. Cory and C. F. Batchelder ; secretary, 

 John H. Sage ; treasurer, William Dutcher; 

 councilors, Frank M. Chapman, Ruthven 

 Deane, J. Dwight, Jr., A. K. Fisher, E. W. 

 Nelson, Thomas S. P.oberts, Witmer 

 Stone. As ex-presidents, J. A. Allen, 

 William Brewster, D. G. Elliot, and 

 Robert Ridgway also serve as councilors. 



There were no candidates for active 

 membership. One honorary member. Dr. 

 A. B. Meyer, two corresponding members, 

 Count E. Arrigoni degli Oddi and Walter 

 E. Bryant, and sixty - seven associate 

 members were elected. 



At this meeting notice was given of a 

 proposed change in the by-laws of the 

 Union of far-reaching importance. It pro- 

 vides for the increase of the limit of active 

 membership from fifty to seventy-five, but 

 prohibits the election to this class of more 

 than five members annually. It desig- 

 nates the members of this class Fellows 

 instead of Active Members, and provides 

 for the establishment of a new class of 

 members, likewise limited to seventy-five 

 in number, who shall be known simply 

 as Mernbers, but who shall not have 

 the privileges of voting, etc., accorded 

 Fellows. Action on this proposed amend- 

 ment will be taken in November, igoi. 



The more important features of the 

 public sessions of the Union, which were 

 held in the Nash Lecture room of Harvard 

 University Museum, were memorial ad- 

 dresses on Elliott Coues and George B. 

 Sennett, delivered by D. G. Elliot and 

 J. A. Allen, respectively ; William Dutch- 

 er 's report on the expenditure of about 

 $1,000 of the Thayer fund, T. S. Palmer's 

 account of the methods employed for the 

 enforcement of the Lacey Bill, and the 

 large series — about four hundred in num- 

 ber — of excellent lantern slides exhibited. 



Mr. Dutcher stated that he had secured 

 the services of twenty-three wardens and 

 five superintendents, the latter being mem- 

 bers of the Union who volunteered, and 

 with their assistance had given all protec- 

 tion afforded by law to the water birds 

 breeding from Virginia to Maine. 



