" It has been shown conclusively to us that the colony of Terns breeding on 

 Great Gull Island, Suffolk County, N. Y., is in danger of extermination, and 

 is in need of State protection. We, therefore, petition your honorable body 

 to appoint Henry P. Field, Keeper of Little Gull Island Light-h juse, Suffolk 

 County, (P. O. Address, Sag Harbor), N. Y., as special game protector for 

 Great Gull Island, his appointment to be without compensation on the part of 

 the State, and to last from May 15th to September 15th, 1894. 

 Very respectfully yours, 

 (Signed), Wakeman Holberton, 



Secretary, 

 New York Assoc, for Protection of Game. 



" On this application Capt. Field was appointed as Special 

 Game Protector, and acted as such during the breeding 

 season of 1894. In a letter received from him on the 4th 

 of October, he states that the colony of Terns has increased 

 wonderfully during the past season, and he submits a list 

 of dates when he prevented parties from collecting eggs 

 and shooting birds. 



" In reply to an inquiry he stated that he estimated the in- 

 crease to be from 1,000 to 1,500 birds, or that the colony 

 had increased in numbers at least one half. That this 

 statement is correct is undoubtedly true, for, on numerous 

 occasions, while sailing off the south side of Long Island 

 this year, I observed Terns for the first time in a number 

 of years, and a correspondent informs me that he saw 

 flocks of Terns on Long Island as far west as Flushing Bay 

 during the past season, none having been seen there before 

 for a number of years. 



Very truly, 



Wm. Dutcher. 

 " New York, Oct. 23, 1894. 



The paper of the evening, " Peculiar Phases of Color as- 

 sumed by Certain Birds," by R. W. Shufeldt, M. D., was, 

 in his absence, read by the Secretary. 



Mr. L. S. Foster read, from the recent compilation made 

 by the Committee on the Local Fauna, the published re- 

 cords concerning the thirty-two species of Raptores found 

 in the vicinity of New York City. 



