18 



August 9. He thought the birds were commoner this year 

 than last, being about as abundant as in 1906. In 1906 he saw 

 the last bird on October 12. He also added that he had seen 

 the last Common Tern {Sterna hirundo) in the harbor this year 

 on October 11. 



Mr. F. L. Van Tassell spoke of the large numbers of Black 

 Ducks {Anas rubripes) observed by him 6n Great South Bay, L. 

 L, in August of this year. Some of the flocks contained 700 or 

 800 individuals. He attributed the abundance of the birds parti- 

 ally to the abolition of spring shooting. 



Mr. J. A. Weber reported collecting a Short-billed Marsh 

 Wren {Cistothorus stellaris) at Freeport, L. I., on September 12. 

 This is the second definite record of the species on Long 

 Island. 



Mr. Frank M. Chapman then presented the paper of the 

 evening, w^hich was entitled ''Impressions of English Bird Life." 

 He told of his first visit to England, made in 1906, and of trips 

 to Cambridge, Surrey, Selborne, the New Forest, the Yorkshire 

 coast, the Fame Islands, and southern Scotland. The paper 

 was illustrated with lantern slides, which showed the scenery 

 and the bird life of the regions visited. 



October 27, 1908.— The President in the chair. Thirty-six 

 members and visitors present. 



Mr. James Chapin was elected a resident member of the 

 Society. 



Mr. J. A. Weber recorded the discovery of a nest of the Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeak {Zamelodia ludoviciana) at Fort George, 

 in this city, on June 6 ; it contained three eggs of the Grosbeak 

 and one Cowbird's {Molothrus ater) egg. He also reported 

 finding at the same place a nest of a Song Sparrow {Melospiza 

 melodia) in a bush ten feet from the ground. 



Prof. C. C. Trowbridge reported a like nest, seven or eight 

 feet from the ground, which he had found on June 18; and Mr. 

 B. S. Bowdish told of a nest built twelve feet up in vines under 

 a bird-box, at Demarest, N. J. 



Mr. Miller called attention to the fact that the early nests 

 of Song Sparrows are almost invariably on the ground, while 

 later ones, after the leaves are out so as to afford sufficient 



