May 4, 1892. — The President in the chair. Eight mem- 

 bers and four visitors present. 



Mr, Frank M. Chapman gave an account of his recent 

 trip to Cuba, where, in the vicinity of Trinidad, on the 

 southern coast of the island, he spent the greater part 

 of March and April, 1892. A full account of his ob- 

 servations and collections will be found in the Bulletin of 

 the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. iv., pp. 



279-33I- 



Dr. J. A. Allen spoke of an interesting new species of 

 Gallinule from Gough Island, off the coast of Africa. He 

 had named the bird Porphyriomis comeri. [See Bull. 

 Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. iv.. 1892, p. 57.] 



May 18, 1892 — The President in the chair. Nine mem- 

 bers present. 



Mr. Frank M. Chapman read some notes from T. G. 

 Pearson of Archer, Fla. Among the interesting records 

 was that of a flock of 50 or more Wild Pigeons (Ectopistes 

 migrator ins"). Mr. W. E. D. Scott, however, rather doubted 

 the correctness of the record, and stated that if it were 

 true it was quite remarkable, Florida being out of the 

 range of this bird for the last few years. 



Mr. Pearson had found the Sparrow Hawk {Falco 

 sparverius) breeding very abundantly, the usual number of 

 eggs being four or five ; if robbed, the birds always laid 

 a second set and sometimes a third, usually in the same 

 nest; 19 to 21 days are required to complete a second litter. 



Mr. Ernest E. Thompson, who had just returned from 

 an extended trip in Europe, made some remarks on his 

 impressions of European birds. He was struck with the 

 fact that there was no marked Autumn song season, as with 

 us, the only birds singing at that season being the Robin 

 (Enthaciis rubccula) and the Skylark (Alauda arvensis). 



Mr. W. E. D Scott spoke of the destruction of birds in 

 Florida, and said that there had been a marked decrease in 

 the evil during the past few years, and a corresponding in- 

 crease in the numbers of birds, especially the Herons and 



