358 



Bird - Lore 



I Florida Gallinule, i Yellowlegs, and 2 

 Egrets. September 17, 8 adult Heermann 

 Gulls were noted on a pier at Venice. Others 

 were apparently fishing rather far out. 



September 16, and 21, the song of a Gambel 

 Sparrow was heard at Echo Park. None 

 were seen until the 24th, and within the next 

 two weeks they became common. The 

 desiccating weather that prevailed at that 

 time did not appear to hold them back. 

 September 17, the hottest day of the summer, 

 with the official temperature 102°, relative 

 humidity very low and with brush-fires pre- 

 vailing over many square miles of territory 

 normally occupied by California Purple 

 Finches, Mrs. Robert Fargo reports the 

 appearance in her garden of five individuals 

 of that species, one male and four females. 

 She reports that they appeared very weary, 

 panting visibly with bills open as they perched 

 on the wires, where they excited the interest 

 of the House Finches that gathered near 

 them, affording opportunity for comparison. 



September 25, Mrs. F. T. Bicknell reports 

 seeing a Snowy Egret (Egretta candidissima) 

 at Playa del Rey. It was under observation, 

 within easy range of the glasses of three com- 

 petent people together for a period of about 

 two hours, and its identity undoubtedly 

 established. 



September 24, Barn Swallows were re- 



ported gathered in considerable numbers 

 over shallow ponds in a marshy district on 

 the coast, where Ducks and Northern 

 Phalaropes were assembled in hundreds. 

 September 27, of the Swallows, but two Barn 

 and one Cliff were seen in a period of four 

 hours spent at the ponds, in the middle of 

 the day. Phalaropes were there in very large 

 flocks, so far as could be ascertained all 

 being the Northern. An unidentified Hawk 

 harassed them with frequent attacks. 

 Waders were numerous, including consider- 

 able numbers of Yellowlegs. Three Egrets 

 were seen in the marshes. 



September 25, two large flocks of young 

 Farallone Cormorants were seen near Man- 

 hattan Beach. Heermann Gulls were numer- 

 ous and one of the smaller Grebes was listed. 



October 5, both the Horned and Eared 

 Grebes were seen at* Playa del Rey. Black- 

 bellied Plover have been very little in evi- 

 dence at any time the shore has been visited, i 

 Hudsonian Curlew are now but rare strag- 

 glers, immense numbers having passed down 

 our shores in July and August. 



Audubon Warblers became numerous 

 about October 8, and one Ruby-crowned 

 Kinglet was noted. Western Gnatcatchers 

 are common in brushy foothill regions. — 

 Frances B. Schneider, Los Angeles, Calif. 



ANNUAL CONGRESS OF THE 

 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION 



The fortieth Annual Congress of the 

 American Ornithologists' Union convened 

 in Chicago, October 23 to 26, 1922. It was 

 the first meeting of the Union to be held in 

 the Mississippi Valley, and the fact that it 

 was more largely attended than any pre- 

 vious meeting indicates that hereafter 

 Chicago will hold its place in the A. O. U. 

 itinerary. 



The open sessions of the Congress were held 

 in the public lecture halls of the Field Mu- 

 seum, which were dedicated on this occasion. 

 For the first time in the history of the Union, 

 the length of the program necessitated the 

 holding of simultaneous sessions, Wednesday 

 ra^^ninp; being devoted to papers and dis- 



cussion on bird-banding, while at the same 

 time papers on the more technical phases of 

 ornithology were presented in another room. 

 This procedure not only made it' possible to '■ 

 present all the papers on the program, but 

 it allowed time for discussion, often as valu- 

 able as the papers themselves. 



The efforts of the local committee of 

 arrangements, both in regard to the scientific 

 and social phases of the Congress, were 

 eminently successful. The annual dinner and 

 excursion to the dunes were both memorable, 

 while the exhibit of paintings and photo- 

 graphs of birds was such an attractive part 

 of the program that it may well be made a 

 repjular feature of subsequent congresses. 



