Nov., 1907 



MINUTES OF COOPER CIvUB MEETINGS 



MINUTES OP COOPER CLUB MEETINGS 



NORTHERN DIVISION 



September. — The September meeting of 

 the Northern Division of the Cooper Ornitho- 

 logical Club was held in the rooms of the Cal- 

 ifornia Promotion Committee, Union Square, 

 San Francisco, on Saturday evening, Septem- 

 ber 21. 



Dr. Frederick W. D'Evelyn, President of 

 the Club, read a most interesting paper on the 

 "Locust-eating Birds of the Transvaal". His 

 paper, which will appear in The Condor, 

 was most acceptable in the reading by reason of 

 the vein of dry humor running thru his in- 

 formal remarks in which he occasionally di- 

 gressed as some incident of his life in South 

 Africa was recalled. Dr. D'Evelyn was in 

 South Africa in the days of the first Boer War 

 in the early '80s. His memory of the bird life 

 of those days has been verified by correspond- 

 ence with British ornithologists now working 

 over that region . 



Miss Bertha Chapman, Vice-President, pre- 

 sented "A Plan to Widen the Scope of The 

 Condor". 



Miss Chapman pointed out that the teachers 

 in this state in connection with their nature 

 study work in birds have no publication to 

 which they can refer for a simple description 

 of the commonest local species. An eastern 

 publication affords teachers of the Atlantic 

 Coast and Mississippi Valley this information, 

 but does not give the species needed by the 

 California teacher for her-class room work. 

 Some publication must sooner or later supply 

 this demand. If The Condor devoted a 

 page or two in each issue with illustrations it 

 would not only incregise its circulation among 

 teachers but would meet with as large a sale on 

 the news stands as does the eastern publication. 



A discussion followed Miss Chapman's paper, 

 as to ways and means of putting such a plan 

 into effect. The conclusion reached, seemed to 

 point to the adoption of The Condor as the 

 official organ for bird study by the State Board 

 of Education, and with this increased subscrip- 

 tion list, a salaried Editor and Business Mana- 

 ger. 



After this discussion the Club held a short 

 business session. The resignation of R. E. 

 Snodgrass was accepted. Further election of 

 members went over until the next meeting. 

 Meeting adjourned. 



RoswEi/i< S. Wheeler, Secretary. 



southern division 



September. — The postponed September 

 meeting of the Cooper Club was called to order 

 by President Morcom, in the Faculty Room, 

 Throop Polytechnic Institute, Pasadena, Cal., 

 Thurs. evening, Oct. lOjwith the following visitors 



present: Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Vernon Bailey, 

 Mrs. Vernon Bailey, Mrs. Elizabeth Griuuell, 

 Mrs. Joseph Grinnell, President Chamberlain 

 and Dean B. F. Stacey of Throop Institute, 

 Walter Richardson, Mrs. C. E. Cosper and 

 Lloyd Cosper; and members Miss Olga S. Tar- 

 bell, J. Grinnell, O. W. Howard, Lee Cham- 

 bers, V. W. Owen, Prof. Loye Holmes Miller, 

 M. French Oilman, H. T. Clifton, W. B. Jud- 

 son, C. E. Cosper, Alphonse and Antonin Jay, 

 Walter Taylor, W. Chamberlain, Chas. Rich- 

 ardson, Jr. , and Law. 



Applications for membership were proposed: 

 R. Magoon Barnes, Lacon, Illinois, by W. Lee 

 Chambers, and Cyril H. Bretherton, 622 Bryson 

 Bldg., Los Angeles, California, by J. Eugene 

 Law. In accordance with the By-laws, action 

 on these was deferred till next meeting. The 

 matter of an outing meeting was referred by 

 motion to Messrs. Morcom, Lelande and Law, 

 with authority to make all arrangements to 

 have an outing in October. 



Dr. C. Hart Merriam was then introduced by 

 Mr. Morcom and spoke at length, giving many 

 interesting anecdotes of bird and bird-observ- 

 ing life. Dr. Merriam has just returned from 

 the Klamath Lake region, where he has been 

 doing Biological Survey work. Few of our 

 California ornithologists are as familiar with 

 the topography and plant and animal life of 

 the length and breadth of the state as is Dr. 

 Merriam, and his opportunities for observation 

 in the long period he has been at biological 

 field work have been exceptional. He usually 

 arrives in California from the East for active 

 field work in July, and we all know of his 

 zone boundary investigations. Not the least 

 interesting were his stories of Indian bird-lore. 

 It seems that Indian legends having to do with 

 birds and how certain characteristics were ac- 

 quired, are very rich, and Dr. Merriam has no 

 end of interesting stories at his tongue's end. 

 Before closing he took occasion to emphasize 

 the value of the work being accomplished by 

 the bird student who learns his own locality 

 and records the habits of its birds year after 

 year under similar conditions. 



Mr. Vernon Baily gave a short talk about his 

 work with Dr. Merriam, but the lateness of the 

 hour cheated us out of the longer talk we had 

 hoped for. Mr. Bailey drew special attention 

 to the interesting problems which Southern 

 California presents in bird distribution, owing 

 to its abundance of mountains, passes, coast 

 line and country between. Mr. Morcom, in 

 calling on Dr. Merriam, emphasized a prece- 

 dent long since become a custom, and that is, 

 that our always-welcome ornithological visitors 

 only have one condition exacted from them — 

 that of cheerfully answering the dozens of 

 questions we are sure to ask them. 



Mr. Virgil Owen exhibited a few interesting 

 screech owl skins from Arizona, including 

 some of the smaller forms. Adjourned. 



J. EuGENK Law, Secretary. 



