62 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. VII 
male hummer near the nest after the young were hatched. I was lying in the shade 
of the bushes a few feet from the nest one afternoon. For two whole days, I had 
been watching and photographing 
and no other hummer had been 
near. Suddenly, a male darted up 
the canyon and lit on a dead twig 
opposite the nest. He hadn’t 
settled before the mother hurtled at 
him. I jumped up to watch. They 
shot up and down the hillside like 
winged bullets, through trees and 
over stumps, the mother, with tail 
spread and all the while squeaking 
like mad. It looked like the chase 
of two meteors, that were likely to 
disappear in a shower of sparks, 
had they struck anything. If it 
was the father, he didn't get a 
squint at the bantlings. If it was 
a bachelor a-wooing, he got a hot 
reception. 
I can’t believe the male rufous 
is an intentional shirk and a de- 
serter. I think somewhere back 
through the generations of hum- 
mingbird experience, it was found 
that such bright colors and such 
YOUNG RUFOUS HUMMERS ON NEST IN BLACKBERRY BUSH , , , , , 
devotion about the home were clues, 
unmistakable for enemies. It is therefore the law of self-protection, that he keep 
away entirely during the period of incubation and the rearing of the young. 
Portland , Oregon. 
The Future Problems and Aims of Ornithology 
LETTERS FROM PROF. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE, DR. LEONHARD STEJNEGER, 
AND DR. PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER 
E DITORIAL, NOTE. Occasionally it is said, half seriously, that ornithology 
is becoming overworked, and this sentiment is usually evident in some of 
the less scientific literature of the day. Perhaps it is not stated boldly, but 
an acute reader may sometimes peruse between the lines. Concerning strictly 
scientific ornithology I am optimistic, because the limits of work in this line de- 
pend upon the limitations of the worker. In other words if a science, and espec- 
ially one of the biological sciences, begins to play out, as it were, it is usually a good 
sign that something is wrong either with the scientist or his methods, or with both. 
Recently I sent a number of questions to several well-known ornitholog- 
ists with the intention of gaining their ideas concerning the future aims of ornith- 
ology, and its special problems. A few indulgent scientists have kindly respond- 
ed, and I feel sure the letters will prove of more than passing value to professional 
