204 



Bird - Lore 



iiirti'Eore 



A Bi-monthly Magazine 

 Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 



OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 



Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 

 Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 



Vol. V Published December 1, 1903 No. 6 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES 



Price in tlie United States, Canada and Mexico 

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

 age paid. 



Subscriptions may be sent to the Publishers, at 

 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or 66 Fifth avenue. New 

 York City. 



Price in all countries in the International Postal 

 Union, twenty-five cents a number, one dollar and 

 a quarter a year, postage paid. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1903, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



Bird-Lore's Motto: 

 A Bird in the Bush is Worth Two in the Hand 



Ever since the establishment of Bird- 

 Lore it has been our desire to present our 

 readers with accurately colored illustrations 

 of birds, which would not only be attractive 

 in themselves but would also be of assistance 

 in identifying birds in nature. Various 

 methods of color printing have been inves- 

 tigated, but those that were desirable were 

 too expensive, while those that were cheap 

 were painfully unsatisfactory. 



Recent developments in reproductive pro- 

 cesses, however, have made it possible for 

 us to gratify our ambition, and Bird-Lore 

 celebrates the completion of its fifth year by 

 publishing the first plates of a series de- 

 signed to illustrate the Warblers of North 

 America in color, from drawings by Louis 

 Agassiz Fuertes and Bruce Horsfall. 



In these illustrations especial attention 

 will be paid to the plumage of the female 

 and young (when they differ from that of 

 the adult male), a plan which we are sure 

 will meet with the approval of the many 

 bird students who have been puzzled by 

 birds in immature dress. 



Of the value of the text, by Professor 

 Cooke, which will accompany these plates, 

 we have spoken on another page. Later it 

 is proposed to publish in book - form full 

 biographical matter concerning the songs, 

 nests and eggs, and general habits of 

 Warblers, and in carrying out this plan we 



most earnestly request the cooperation of 

 Bird-Lore's readers. 



The day has long passed when one man 

 can write a life-history of even a single bird 

 which will adequately reflect our knowledge 

 of it. The migration dates presented by 

 Professor Cooke in this issue admirably il- 

 lustrate the necessity for many observers if 

 we are properly to comprehend the subject 

 of bird migration ; and in every other phase 

 of the study of bird-life there is need for a 

 great number of independent observations. 



Bird Lore's editor, therefore, will ap- 

 pear not as the author, but as the editor of 

 the projected volume on North American 

 Warblers, and he sincerely hopes that dur- 

 ing the coming season bird students through- 

 out the country will pay especial attention 

 to the habits of these birds, and will con- 

 tribute the results of their work to this 

 proposed joint production of American 

 ornithologists. A plan for study will be 

 announced in a later number. 



With this issue of Bird - Lore Mr. 

 Dutcher joins Mrs. Wright in editing the 

 Audubon Department. Mrs. Wright will 

 continue her helpful and suggestive editorials 

 on various phases of educational and pro- 

 tective bird work, and Mr. Dutcher will 

 contribute news of the activities of the 

 National Committee and continue in Bird- 

 Lore his useful series of Educational 

 Leaflets. 



To make room for this additional material. 

 Bird - Lore will be permanently enlarged. 



Other features for the coming year will be 

 announced in due season, but we already 

 have enough material on hand to assure our 

 readers a volume of exceptional interest and 

 value. 



As we go to press we learn with much 

 pleasure that Mrs. Florence Merriam Bai- 

 ley's ' Handbook of Birds of the Western 

 United States ' has already reached its second 

 edition. 



It is also good news to hear that the long- 

 delayed revised edition of Coues' Key will 

 be published In December. In our next is- 

 sue, therefore, we shall present the promised 

 reproductions of proof pages of the 1872 

 edition of this classic work. 



