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Bird -Lore 



A Bi-Monthly Magazine 

 Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 



OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDDBON SOCIETIES 



Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



Contributinpr Editor, MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 



Published by D. APPLETON & CO. 



Vol. XXIV Published June 1, 1932 No, 3 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES 



Price in tlie United Stnles, one dollar and fifty rents a year; 

 outside the United States, one dollar and seventy-five cents, 

 postage paid. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1922, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



Bird-Lore's Motto: 

 A Bird in the Bush Is Worth Two in the Hand 



The Ibis, organ of the British Ornitholo- 

 gists' Union (founded in 1858) speaks with 

 the authority of maturity and the force 

 of a conservatism which has ever character- 

 ized its editorial policy. Praise, therefore, 

 from The Ibis is praise indeed, and only 

 mock modesty would prevent us from ad- 

 mitting that the following quotation from 

 the April issue of this magazine has given us 

 so much pleasure that we cannot resist 

 sharing the quotation — and we hope the 

 pleasure — with the readers of Bird-Lore: 

 "We have nothing quite like Bird-Lore on 

 this side of the Atlantic, and it seems a pity 

 that the British Royal Society for the Pro- 

 tection of Birds has not been able to attempt 

 something of the kind. It is certainly the 

 most attractive of all the popular magazines 

 dealing with birds." Comment follows on 

 various articles and reports which have 

 appeared in recent numbers of Bird-Lore, 

 including the Christmas Censuses, and with 

 a discrimination which, if possible, increases 

 our already high estimate of the reviewer's 

 judgment, he calls special attention to "the 

 very useful Seasonal Reports from all parts 

 of the United States which are to be found 

 in each number." 



While our thoughts for the moment are 

 on that side of the Atlantic to which the 

 writer Just quoted refers, we take occasion 

 to speak of a provision of the British law 

 regulating the importation of plumage which 

 went into effect April i, 1922. This measure 

 permits the importation into England of 



feathers from the Ostrich and Eider, and to 

 this list other species may be added from 

 time to time. But may we call the attention 

 of those who are responsible for such addi- 

 tions, to the evil results which may follow the 

 enforced concentration of the efforts of 

 millinery collectors on specified birds? If 

 the demands of fashion had not singled out 

 for destruction Egrets, Paradise Birds, 

 Crowned Pigeons, Least Terns, etc., we 

 should not have witnessed the whole- 

 sale destruction of these species which 

 has threatened them with extermination. 

 So, the naming of certain species as the 

 legitimate prey of the milliners may be 

 equivalent to signing their death warrant 

 and this, in other respects, admirable law, 

 may thus defeat the very ends it was de- 

 signed to serve. 



Bird-Lore frequently receives lists of 

 birds found nesting on an acre, in a garden, 

 orchard, or other definitely circumscribed 

 area, and when space permits we publish the 

 more interesting of these contributions. 

 Observations of this kind, but on a some- 

 what larger scale, are now called for by the 

 Biological Survey at Washington, which pro- 

 poses to resume the systematic 'bird counts' 

 it began in 1914. It is just as important to 

 learn the bird population of deserts as of 

 more favored places, and anyone with time 

 and experience is eligible for this work with- 

 out regard to the nature of area available for 

 examination. Blanks and instructions may 

 be obtained from the Survey. 



Objection has been made to our outline of 

 the "requirements" of the ornithologist, pub- 

 lished in the last issue of Bird-Lore, on the 

 ground that they are too "severe." In our 

 opinion, however, they are not severe enough, 

 and a more detailed treatment of the subject 

 would show how broad a foundation should 

 be laid by the professional ornithologist. 

 But one need not be a professional ornitholo- 

 gist to enjoy the privilege of association 

 with birds. To paraphrase a saying, one 

 "may love birds and hate ornithology." 

 But the bird-lover may be assured that 

 his love of birds will increase with his 

 knowledge of them. 



