DELAWARE VALLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 6 



Wright and I occupied a small room opening out of the old 

 library on the Race Street front of the building, where the few 

 bird-skins then belonging to the Academy were assembled, con- 

 sisting mainly of the collection of North American and West 

 Indian birds of Dr. William L. Abbott, who was then in Africa 

 on his first exploring expedition. All of these Wright and I 

 labeled and catalogued, and then, in conjunction with David 

 McCadden who had been appointed taxidermist at the Academy, 

 we began the dismounting of a large part of the immense ex- 

 hibition collection of birds which was displayed in the museum, 

 a task which was carried to completion many years later with 

 the assistance of other students of the Jessup Fund — Pennell, 

 Fowler, Lorriliere, Rehn, Culver, etc. , all of whom also became 

 members of the Club. 



We were both engaged at this time too in forming private 

 collections of birds and every morning during the spring we 

 brought in choice specimens from Germantown and Consho- 

 hocken respectively to be compared, commented upon and 

 skinned at lunch time. We also took collecting trips together 

 to the Jersey Pine Barrens for Pine and Prairie Warblers and 

 down the Delaware for winter hawks and rare migrants. Wright 

 formed an ornithological partnership with a boy friend of Con- 

 shohocken, Frederic L. Clark son of Charles Heber Clark, the 

 well-known author. They spent part of every summer camp- 

 ing on the upper Perkiomen, in a wild and picturesque spot, 

 on the same stream whose lower waters were explored by Au- 

 dubon from his home at Mill Grove, some miles below. The 

 results of these campings furnished material for several com- 

 munications to the Club, at the meetings of which Wright was 

 for years one of the most regular attendants. He also made a 

 valuable study of the Grasshopper Sparrow which appeared in 

 Cassinia for 1901 and which added largely to our knowledge of 

 the bird in our region, especially as regards its migration. 



Wright's interests were not wholly ornithological. He was 

 fond of reading and appreciated the best in literature and the 

 drama. He was always attracted by outdoor sports of all kinds, 

 played football and baseball, was an adept with the tennis 

 raquet, winning several local championships and was a skilful 



