February I, 1893. — The President in the chair. Ten 

 members and three visitors present. 



Dr J. A Allen made remarks upon the Fox Squirrels of 

 the United States, illustrated by specimens of the animals. 

 He remarked upon the great tendency to melanism in the 

 group, and described the characters of the three geograph- 

 ical races found within our borders. 



Mr. Frank M. Chapman presented a paper on " Pro- 

 tective Coloration Among Birds." 



Under the head of protective coloration proper, he 

 instanced many cases, notably that of a flock of Parrots 

 flying into a palm tree, whereupon they become almost 

 indistinguishable from their surroundings, although not 

 hidden to any extent by the foliage. He described, as 

 illustrating the fact of the bird's consciousness of its pro- 

 tective coloration, the habit the Cuban Meadow Lark has of 

 turning its back to the observer, and also the remarkable 

 instance narrated by Mr. W. H. Hudson in his " Argentine 

 Ornithology" (Vol. ii., p. 103), of a wounded Bittern 

 {Ardetta involncris) which persisted in turning its breast 

 towards its captor, although he endeavored to pass around 

 behind it. The bird, with its slender neck pointing straight 

 upward, could not be distinguished from a reed stalk, ex- 

 cept on close scrutiny. 



Mr. Chapman said that Dr. John A.Wells, of Englewood, 

 N. J., had recently watched a Woodcock (Philohela minor) 

 on her nest, and was fully convinced that she was aware 

 of her resemblance to the surroundings of her nest, 

 for she remained perfectly quiet and allowed of a very near 

 approach ; but when a fall of snow came, and Dr. Wells 

 again visited the sitting bird — now a very conspicuous 

 object — she flew before he had approached within gunshot. 

 Under the head of aggressive coloration, whereby a bird is 

 enabled to seek its prey to better advantage by reason of 

 its coloration, Mr. Chapman instanced the Fish Hawk, 

 Gulls, Terns, etc. 



The most notable example of protective mimicry is the 



