THE JOURNAL 



of the Museum of Comparative Oology 



Copyright, 1920, by William Leon Dawson 

 Intended eventually to be issued as a Quarterly, but noiv put out as an ANNUAL 



VOL. I DOUBLE NUMBER NOS. 3 and 4 



This issue of the Journal is sent gratis to members of certain ornithological and oological 

 groups of recognized standing. Additional copies will be mailed to prescribed addresses upon 

 request of any Member of the M. C. O. Beginning next January the Quarterly Journal will 

 be sent only to those who have established some definite basis of affiliation with the Museum, 

 or to those who wish their names entered as subscribers and who will remit One Dollar (or 

 Five Shillings), the subscription price for the year 1 92 1. Additional copies of this issue, 

 50 cents each. 



MSS. intended for publication, communications, field reports, inquiries, and offers of 

 exchange and cooperation should all be addressed to the Director, Museum of Comparative 

 Oology, Santa Barbara, California. 



CONTENTS 



Colored Frontispiece : Eggs of Three Species Inserted 



The New International Order of Oologists I 



Encouragement and Counsel 6 



An Oological Revision of the Alciformes, William Leon Dawson 7 



Gaps in Our Knowledge of Eggs, A. C. Bent 14 



The Ethics of Exchange, J. Hooper Bowles 16 



The Oological Outlook, An Editorial Review 18 



The Significance of the Unusual 20 



The Most Significant Egg in the World - 21 



The Honorary Board of Foreign Advisers 22 



Accessions and Acknowledgments 2Z 



The Altered Program for 1920 - --- 25 



The Questionnaire 26 



The Case of the Santa Cruz Island Jay 26 



Simple Instructions for Collecting and Preserving Eggs 29 



A Recommended Marking System --- 30 



Notable Visitors 31 



Portrait of Edward Payson Ripley 3 2 



The Passing of Mr. Ripley 33 



In Memoriam : Albert H. Vilas 34 



Singles : Editorial Comment on Persons and Things 34 



The " Birds of California" Enterprise 37 



The Museum of Comparative Oology 



A chartered public institution devoted to the study of the Birds 

 of the world, their nests and eggs 



BOARD OF TRUSTEES 



*Edward Payson Ripley, President Caroline Hazard 



Joel Remington Fithian, Vice-President Etta A. Dawson 



Clinton B. Hale, Vice-President Fred H. Schauer 



William Leon Dawson, Secretary Rev. George Francis Weld 



George S. Edwards, Treasurer John R. Pemberton 



Ellen S. Chamberlain Frank C. Willard 



Clinton P. MacAHaster Cadwallader Washburn 



'Deceased February 4, 1920 E. Raymond Driver 



THE SCHAUER PRINTING STUDIO. SANTA BARBARA . CAL. 



