THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



281 



to " Capo Fly-away " as Irving calls it, or 1 lie 

 North Pole, with its loss of life, its expense, 

 and its " no results" I believe the one as 

 Cully and as utterly practicable as the other 

 is fully and utterly impracticable. It would 

 probably not be difficult to find a man pro- 

 perly fitted for the work and ready and willing 

 to undertake it. 



Very respectfully, yours, 



Winfrid A. Stearns. 

 Acting curator of 



Mass. State Ag'l. College. 



Amherst, Mass., IT- S- A., Jan. 22nd 1884. 



American Ornithologists' Union 

 BIRD MIGRATION. 



At the first congress of the American Orni- 

 thologists' Union, held in September 1883, a 

 Committee was appointed on the Migration of 

 Birds. The purpose of this Committee is to 

 inyestigate in all its bearings, and to the ful- 

 lest extent possible, the subject of the migra- 

 tion of birds in the United States and British 

 North America. The work will not be limited 

 to the accumulation of records of the times of 

 arrival and departure of different species, but 

 will embrace the collection of all data that 

 may aid in determining the causes which 

 influence the progress of migration from season 

 to season. For example, severe storms, gales 

 of wind, protracted periods of unusually high 

 or low temperature (for the locality and time 

 of year) are among the admospheric condi- 

 tion that are known to exert marked effects 

 upon the movements of birds. The opening 

 of the leaves and the flowering of certain 

 plants, with the correlative appearance of a 

 multitude of insects, are also among the actors 

 that have to do with the abundance of many 

 species. Hence the careful registration of 

 certain meteorological phenomena, aud of the 

 state of advancing vegetation from day to day, 

 will constitute prominent items in the record 

 books of the observer. 



For the purpose of rendering the result of 

 the season's work as full and valuable as pos- 

 sible, the Committee earnestly solicits the 

 co-operation of every ornithologist, field- 

 collector, sportsman, and observer of nature 

 in North America. Indeed, a large corps of 

 observers is absolutely essential to the success 

 Of the undertaking, and the Committee hopes 

 to receive substantial aid from many who 

 profess no knowledge of ornithology. 



Plan op the Work. — For convenience in 

 collecting and arranging the enormous man 

 of material which will be accumulated by the 

 joint labors of this army of field worker*, it 

 has been deemed advisable to divide 1 he rast 

 expanse of territory embraced in ihe United 

 States and British North America into thirteen 

 Districts, each of which will be placed nnder 

 the immediate direction of a competent Super- 

 intendent. The Districts, with their respective 

 Superintendents, are : — 



Alaska, Supt., John Murdock, Smithsonian 

 Inst, Washington. D. 0. 



North-west Territories, Supt, Ernest E. 

 T. Seton, Assinaboia, wiaCarberry, Manitoba. 



Newfoundland, Supt, James P. Howley, St. 

 John's, Newfoundland. 



British Columbia., Supt., (not yet deter- 

 mined). 



Manitoba, Prof. W. W. Cooke, Caddo, Indian 

 Territory. 



Canada, Supt, Montague Chamberlain. St. 

 John, New Brunswick 



Atlantic Seaboard, (Lighthouse's and Light- 

 ships from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico), 

 Supt, (not yet determined). 



New England, Supt , John H. Sage. Portland, 

 Conn. 



Atlantic District, (N. York, Pennsylvania, 

 New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 

 North Carolina, South Carolina), Supt , Dr. A. 

 K. Fisher, Sing Sing, New York. 



Middle-eastern District (Southern Mich- 

 igan, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia. Ken- 

 tucky and Tennessee east of the Tennessee 

 River, Alabama. Georgia, Florida) Supt , Dr. 

 J. M. Wheaton, Columbus, Ohio 



Mississippi Valley ( Dakota, Minnesota. 

 Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, 

 Missouri, Indian Territory, Arkansas, the 

 small portions of Kentucky and Tennesee 

 west of the Tennessee River, Texas Louisiana. 

 Mississippi), Supt, Prof. W. W. Cooke, Caddo. 

 Indian Territory. 



Rocky Mountain District (Idaho, Montana, 

 Wyoming, Utah. Colorado, Arizona, New 

 Mexico), Supt., Dr. Edgar A Meatus 



Pacific District (Washington, Oregon, Cali- 

 fornia, Nevada), Supt., L. Belding, Stockton, 

 California. 



The home of each observer is called a Sta- 

 tion, and is recorded by number upon the 

 books of the Committee. The Committee par- 

 ticularly requests that all persons who read 

 this circular, and are willing to aid in the 

 work, will immediately communicate with the 

 Superintendents, of their respective Districts. 

 Those residing in Districts whose Superintend 



