SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 



Edited by A. A. ALLEN. Ph.D. 



Address all communications relative to the work of this 

 department to the Editor, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 



BIRD WALKS 



On Christmas Day, or the day after, hundreds of observers will take to the 

 woods and fields in search of birds. From Nova Scotia to British Columbia 

 and from Florida to California, groups of bird-lovers will be seen starting out 

 with field-glasses in hand to make Bird-Lore's annual bird census. First 

 suggested by Dr. Chapman in 1900, the Christmas Bird Census has come to 

 international fame, and the pages of the January Bird-Lore, where the various 

 lists are reported, are eagerly scanned by bird-lovers the world over. Reports 

 from the West Indies, South America, and Europe often arrive in time to be 

 printed. Even in far-off Australia there will be interested bird students in 

 the field who would love to exchange their lists and their observations with 

 others on this side of the globe. 



The bird-walk has become a delightful and wholesome practice, giving 

 enjoyment to the most experienced ornithologists as well as those learning 

 their first birds. At the same time, it helps to assemble records of considerable 

 scientific value. The Christmas Bird Census, for several reasons, produces 

 records of greater accuracy and, therefore, of greater scientific value than simi- 

 lar records made at other times of the year, but for the enjoyment of the 

 observer, a census taken during the spring migration, among the nesting birds 

 of summer, or with the drab birds of fall is equally interesting. Indeed, com- 

 petition among observers during the spring, to secure the longest list of birds 

 on a single walk, often ranges high, and the bird-walks become correspondingly 

 exciting. It has never seemed advisable to print such lists in Bird-Lore, but 

 for the compilation of a local list of birds to show which species occur in a 

 given region, where and when they are found, such records are invaluable. 

 Summaries of several years' observations at a given place are often printed in 

 The Auk*, a journal with which all serious bird students should become 

 acquainted. Bird students in the Middle West should likewise become familiar 

 with the Wilson Bulletin^ and those of the West with The Condor. % 



School teachers who start their bird-study with the Christmas or New 



*The Auk. — Organ of the American Ornithologists' Union. Quarterly. Each volume contains about 500 pages, 

 a number of half-tones and, occasionally, colored plates. Subscription, $4 per annum (free to members of the 

 A. O. U.). Address, ig.sg Biltmore St., Washington, D. C. 



'\Wilson Bullelin. — Quarterly. Organ of the Wilson Ornithological Club. Each volume contains about 225 

 pages and a number of half-tones. Annual subscription, $1.50 (free to members of the W. O. C). Address, Oberlin 

 Ohio. 



XThe Condor. — Organ of the Cooper Ornithological Club. Bimonthly. Each volume contains about 250 

 pages and numerous half-tones. Annual subscription $2 (free to members of the C. O. C.) Address, Pasadena, Calif, 



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