May, 1922 
committee of award from among the several 
essays offered. It will be printed in an ear- 
ly issue of The Condor. 
We hear that Mr. E. R. Kalmbach of the 
U. S. Biological Survey has been working 
on the provlem of controlling blackbirds in 
the Imperial Valley. These birds have re- 
sponded very favorably to the irrigation and 
cultivation of that territory; their numbers 
are now so great that damage to certain © 
crops is reported to be heavy. 
After five years of active field work in the 
state of Washington for the U. S. Biological 
Survey, Mr. George G. Cantwell, of Puyallup, 
has resigned, as of date January 1, 1922. 
During a good deal of this time Mr. Cant- 
well has served as assistant to Dr. Walter 
P. Taylor in the latter’s vertebrate survey 
of the state. 
. COMMUNICATION 
PROBLEMS CONCERNING DESERT BIRD-LIFE 
Editor THE CONDOR: 
I have had opportunities in the last few 
‘years of studying the ornithology, and the 
fauna generally, of some of the deserts of 
the Old World. I have come to the conclu- 
sion that the desert birds are particularly 
worthy of study from an ecological point of 
view because they live in an environment 
which has been unspoilt by man and because 
their reactions to their peculiar environ- 
ment are, in some cases at any rate, very 
easily observed. I have also come to the 
conclusion that the accepted interpretation 
of some of the most obvious features of des- 
ert life requires revision. May I appeal to 
your readers to send me any facts, or any 
ideas, which bear on such problems as the 
following, so that I may compare our Old 
World fauna with yours. Eventually I hope 
to publish a summary of my results. 
1. The surface of the desert soil heats up 
to a very high temperature in the daytime 
and cools very rapidly at night. Do birds 
which nest on the ground in American des- 
erts commence incubation as soon as the 
first egg is laid? Have you any birds which 
jay right out in the open without the shelter 
of a bush, as is done by Coursers, Stone Cur- 
lew and Sand Grouse with us? Some of 
these birds lay in May, or even in June and 
July, at the very height of summer, and it is 
difficult to see how the eggs avoid being 
cooked if incubation is not continuous from 
the date the first egg is laid. 
2. I should be grateful for information as 
to the water supply of the chicks of desert 
birds. Our Sand Grouse fly a very great dis- 
EDITORIAL NOTES AND NEWS 103 
tance to water, once a day, and the males 
saturate the breast feathers with water and 
bring it back to the chicks, who drink from 
the breast. We know nothing about the 
water supply of other desert chicks; but one 
presumes that their requirements are high, 
because only by evaporation can they keep 
their bodies cool. 
3. The prevalent color of desert birds is 
of course roughly that of their environment; 
this is true also of their chicks. I am in- 
clined to think that it is not true of the eggs. 
The egg of such a bird as the Stone Curlew, 
or Courser, is of the familiar type charac- 
teristic of the ground nester, but it is not 
specialized in the direction of being paler 
or less blotchy. It is in. fact a_ typical 
ground breeder's egg, not a typical desert 
breeder’s egg. What do American oologists 
say? 
4. We regard the sandy color of desert 
birds as protective, and so it is, under cer- 
tain circumstances. With us, many desert 
birds are running about feeding in early 
morning and late evening; the sun is low and 
they cast long black shadows and are quite 
conspicuous. Jn these cases the protection 
must at any rate be very incomplete. Then, 
again, our Eagle Owl is a powerful bird, 
nocturnal, and found over a large part of 
western Asia and Hurope and North Africa. 
Many subspecies are described, and the des- 
ert ones are all pale and more or less sandy 
in color. Of what possible value is this to 
the bird? Does the theory of protective col- 
oration fit the facts as regards birds in 
North American deserts? Have you any spe- 
cies of birds in America which produce red 
forms on red desert, gray on gray desert, 
pale on sandy desert, etc? 
I have trespassed too far on your space 
already. If any American ornithologist is 
good enough to write to me, to discuss these 
problems or furnish me with facts, I shall 
be extremely grateful. Would my corre- 
spondents remember that I am quite ignor- 
ant of American birds, and furnish scienti- 
fic names, and state even the obvious facts 
which you all know? 
I remain, Sir, yours, 
PLA. BUXION, 
Government Laboratory, Jerusalem, Pales- 
tine, February 27, 1922. | 
MINUTES OF COOPER CLUB MEETINGS 
NORTHERN DIVISION 
FEBRUARY.—The regular meeting of the 
Northern Division of the Cooper Ornitholog- 
