1 I 2 
THE CONDOR 
VOL. VI 
THE CONDOli 
An Illustrated Magazine of Western 
Ornithology 
Published lii=m<>i>Hily by bhe Cooper OrniHiolo^i- 
eal Club of California 
WALTEK. K. FI5MEI^, Editor, Palo Alto 
JOSEPH OR.INNELL, Business Manager and 
Associate Editor, Pasadena 
R.. E. SHOPCiR-ASS, Associate Editor 
Palo Alto, California: Published July 15, 1904 
SUBSCRIPTION RATES 
Price in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and U. S. 
Colonies one dollar a year; single copies twenty-five cents. 
Price in all countries in the International Postal Itnion 
one dollar and a quarter a year. 
Subscriptions should be sent to the Kusiness Manager; 
manuscripts and exchanges to the Editor. 
Minutes of Club Meetings 
northern division 
M.crch. — The club met IVIarch 5, at the re.s- 
idence of Miss Sophie Englehardt, Oakland, 
one honorary member, Mr. W. E. Bryant, 
nineteen active members, and twelve visitors 
being present. The President, Mr. H. R. 
Taylor, was in the chair. The following were 
elected to active membership: P. B. Peabody, 
J. L. Childs, Vernon Bailey, G. W. Luce, and 
Miss Anna M. Wiebalk. There were ten ap- 
plications for membership: C. W. Richmond, 
Washington, D. C., Ruthven Deane, Chicago, 
111 ., O. Widmann, St. Louis, Mo., William 
Brewster, Cambridge, Mass., and L. B. Bishop, 
New Haven, Conn., being proposed by Dr. A. 
K. Fisher; A. H. Keeney, Santa Barbara, and 
Jonathan Dwight, New York, by Mr. Grinnell; 
E. S. Cheney, Oakland, Cal., by Mr. Emerson; 
J. H. PTanagan, Providence, R. I., and Lieut. 
W. B. Eastman, San Francisco, by Chas. S. 
Thompson. A communication was read, in 
which Mr. Grinnell stated that the Club was 
in good condition financially, and on motion 
Mr. Grinnell was instructed to prepare a gen- 
eral statement of the financial affairs of the 
Club. Mr. W. Lee Chambers was appointed, 
to inspect the Club books. 
The business having been disposed of, the 
program was next taken up, Chas. S. Thomp- 
son reading a paper on “A Visit to a Yellow- 
billed Magpie Colony,” which was discussed 
by the members, R. B. Moran and INIr. Kaeding 
making remarks. Mr. F. E. Newberry read an 
interesting paper on “The Osprey in Rhode 
Island,” relating his experiences wdth the birds 
during several years. He showed a fine series 
of photographs of osprey’s nests, as well as sev- 
eral sets of eggs which were much admired. 
The meeting then adjourned to meet at the 
residence of I’rofessor O. P. Jenkins, at Stan- 
ford University, IVIay 7, 1904. 
Cha.s. S. Thomp.son, Secretary. 
May. — The Club met ."May 7, at the residence 
of Prof. O. P. Jenkins, at Stanford University, 
sixteen active members and ten visitors being 
present. President H. R. Taylor was in the 
chair. Ten active members were elected as 
follows: Jonathan Dwight, Jr., A. H. Keeney, 
L. B. Bishop, William Brewster, O. Widmann, 
Ruthven Deane, C. W. Richmond, Lieut. W. 
B. Eastman, J. H. PTanagan, and E. S. Cheney. 
There were three applications for membership. 
L. Stejneger, Washington, D. C., and S. F. 
Rathbun, Seattle, being proposed by Dr. A. K. 
Fisher, and Walter Deane, Cambridge, Mass., 
by Joseph Grinnell. 
The program was now taken up, Mr. N. 
Carpenter reading an interesting paper entitled 
“Bird Life on the San Luis Rey. ” Mr. Sny- 
der next spoke on “The Nesting of the Sierra 
Junco at Stanford University.” He exhibited 
a nest and three eggs of Sierra junco taken at 
Stanford University, and the skin of the female 
parent. Mr. Snyder’s talk was discussed at 
some length inasmuch as the Sierra junco has 
been found “breeding out of its range, at an 
unusual time and in an unusual place.” Mr. 
Thompson read an article from the “Pennsyl- 
vania Register” for 1831 (cf. p. 345) in which 
the nesting habits of the cliff swallow were de- 
scribed. This paper was also discussed, Mr. 
Taylor pointing out that it was probably the 
first published observation on the cliff swallow’s 
nesting on barns, showing that they must 
have changed their nesting places in that par- 
ticular locality at about this time. The meet- 
ing then adjourned to meet at the residence of 
H. R. Taylor, Alameda, Cal., July 9, 1904. 
CiiAS. S. Thomp.son, Secretary. 
The publication of a Catalogue, or manual, 
giving exchange valuations of nests and eggs, 
while not strictly speaking, a contribution to 
scientific knowledge, perhaps is not without 
its interest and value, particularly if the scale 
of relative valuations be worked out with care- 
ful consideration of the abundance or rarity of 
a given species, the question of a restricted 
range, demand, supply, European importations, 
recent explorations, or the contrary, and the 
numerous circumstances which must, as far as 
is possible, be reviewed in arriving at a judg- 
ment somewhere nearly correct. In this coun- 
try where private collections are almost a 
necessity in many instances for advanced stu- 
dents, a “Catalogue” such as the one in con- 
templation, while it may always fall short 
necessarily of perfection, is almost indispensi- 
ble as a guide in the exchange of specimens; 
while, in general, the prices indicated in the 
compendium may be said often to give con- 
cretely and concisely a fair idea of the relative 
abundance of species — at least of such as are 
readily obtainable. Taylor’s Standard American 
Egg Catalogue is to be issued early in August, 
with the A. O. U. list to date and prices thor- 
oughly revised with the assistance of prominent 
Oologi.sts. The active cooperation in this task, 
which is in no sense a financial enterprise, of all 
interested, is asked and will be appreciated by 
H. R. Tayi.or. 
Alameda, Cal., July 5, 1904. 
