The Ornithological Congj'ess,


THE ORNITHOLOGICAL CONGRESS.



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The fourth International Ornithological Congress, which

was opened at the Imperial Institute on June the 12th, is now a

thing of the past, and, by those who had the good fortune to take

part in it, will be long remembered as an extremely delightful

and instructive gathering.


The proceedings opened with an informal reception by

the President, Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, on Monday evening, June

12th. On the following day a General Meeting was held at

which the President gave a history of the Natural History

branch of the British Museum from its earliest days. In the

afternoon the first of the Sectional Meetings was held. Section

IV. was devoted to Economic Ornithology and Bird Protection.

Mr. J. Digby Piggott read a paper on the present state of the

law regarding the Protection of Birds in the United King¬

dom, and pointed out the general state of confusion that existed,

one species being protected while it was absent from our country

and not when it was present. O11 the whole, however, good had

resulted. Sir John Cockburn described the Protection laws in

Australia, which grouped the species into three classes, namely,

those that were protected throughout the entire year, those that

had protection during the breeding season, and those that were

“outlaws” and were granted no protection, amongst which was

the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. Mr. F. E. Lemon, of the Bird

Protection Society, dealt with the same subject. In the evening

a social gathering of the members was held at the Naval,

Shipping and Fisheries Exhibition at Earl’s Court.


O11 Wednesday (June 14th) at a general meeting Mr.

Frank Chapman of New York read a paper, which was illus¬

trated by lantern slides, entitled “ What Constitutes a Museum

Collection of Birds?” He showed the excellent arrangments

adopted in America, but remarked that our National Museum

exceeded anything he had seen in its instructive value. Dr. J.

Dwight, also from the United States, treated of “ Some Phases

in Feather Wear.” He exhibited a series of excellent micro¬

photographic slides, showing the development of feathers, and

explained how the change from dull winter plumage to the



