96 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XV 
basis. As it is impracticable, if not impos- 
siuie, tor any one man to know and keep in 
loucn witn all ol tne competent oDservers 
aiiu comnijiuurs in i\ortn America, it lias 
seemeu uest to piace tins work m tne hands 
oi coiiipeitm leauers m various sections, wno 
are niLed and wiunig to take ciiarge oi tlie 
work m tneir particular localities, to endeavor 
to arouse interest among tneir acquaintances 
m collecting miormation, to secure contnou- 
tions iroiii competent and rename ODservers, 
anu to pass juagment on the accuracy and re- 
namiity ot wnatever tliey send m lor puDiica- 
lion. ine toiiowmg weii-kiiown western orni- 
tnoiogisis are among tnose wlio na\ e already 
generously volunteered to serve in this capac- 
ity : ivir. Jidw, K. Warren lor Colorado; Mr. 
Aretas A. tsatmders lor Montana; Mr. Allan 
i->roOK;s lor lintisn CoiuniDia; Mr. S. E. 
Katnoun lor Washington; Mr. \Vm. E. Fin- 
ley lor Oregon; and Mr. A. F. Howell lor 
Calilornia. 
iNeari}’ ail of these collaborators have re- 
ported more or less success in arousing in- 
terest in the work among their correspon- 
dents, and considerable material has been sent 
m and hied away tor future use ; but in far 
too many cases the results of their labors have 
been disappointingly small. 
Eighteen life histories have already been 
written, but as they contain mainly the re- 
sults of the author's personal observations, 
together with such quotations from published 
material as seemed desirable to make them 
more nearly complete, they are open to ad- 
ditional contributions from others, as well as 
hnal revision. Preference will always be given 
to original contributions ; quotations from 
published literature will be reduced to a 
minimum and contributors will be given full 
credit for whatever material they furnish. 
Mr. Bent already has in his own field-notes 
nearly enough material to write the life his- 
tories of over half of the species to be in- 
cluded in the next volume, but, even after ex- 
hausting all the material contained in the pub- 
lished literature on the subject, there are sur- 
prisingly few species regarding wdiich we have 
sufficient material for even fairly complete 
life histories. An extensive study of the pub- 
lished material brings to light some interest- 
ing facts ; a vast amount of data has been 
published on migration and distribution; nest- 
ing habits have been written up more fully 
than any other phase of the subject, and much 
has been written about the food of birds, par- 
ticularly from an economic standpoint ; but 
the exact period of incubation and of the de- 
velopment of the young has been carefully 
worked out for very few species, the sequence 
of plumages in the water-birds has been sadly 
neglected, and comparatively little has been 
puldished on winter habits. 
For many of the water-birds, only the most 
meagre life histories could be culled from the 
published literature on the subject. To col- 
late and compile in an extensive work on this 
subject all that has been published relating to 
the life histories of North American birds is 
an undertaking well worth while ; but the 
value of any work of this kind is greatly en- 
hanced by a liberal addition of original ma- 
terial, which was a marked feature of Major 
Bendire’s work. 
'There are few ornithologists who cannot 
find the time to study etfectively some phases 
of the life histories of one or more species 
which are readily accessible. There is much 
information which is badly needed and which 
could easily be obtained ; much information of 
value lies buried in the field-notes of nearly 
every observer ; even fragmentary notes are 
often valuable as contributions to life his- 
tories; and it is only by collecting as mucli 
of this material as possible that we can hope 
to get anything even approaching complete- 
ness. 
All possible information is desired on tne 
following points in the life histories of as 
many species as are available for study: 1. 
Extent^ and dates of spring migration. 2. Date 
of arrival on breeding grounds. 3. Mating 
performances. 4. Location of nest. 5. Con- 
struction of nest. 6. Number of eggs and date 
of laying. 7. Period of incubation. 8. Do 
both sexes incubate? 9. Number of broods 
in a season, with dates. 10. Food and de- 
velopment of young. 11. Sequence of plum- 
ages to maturity. 12. Seasonal moults of 
adults. 13. Food and feeding habits of adults. 
14. Flight; swimming or diving habits. 15. 
Behavior with relation to other species. 16. 
Vocal powers and their significance. 17. Ex- 
tent and dates of fall migration. 18. Winter 
home and habits. 
Californians should correspond with our 
own state representative, Mr. A. B. Howell, 
Covina, California. 
COMMUNICATION 
misinformation 
Editor The Condor: 
As an instance of crass scientilic ignorance 
I believe that Mr. Wm. D. Boyce, as evidenced 
in his “Illustrated South America”, recently 
published by Rand, McNally & Co., quite sur- 
passes anything I have seen„ He mentions 
rinding in Peru “doves’ eggs, which are found 
deposited in the sand on the banks of the 
streams. The doves do not ‘set’ on their 
eggs, but let the sun hatch them out. The 
eggs do not have a shell like our birds’ eggs, 
but a tough film like a snake egg.” I assure 
you this is verbatim, and written by a man 
who has travelled extensively and apparently 
for the purpose of gathering and publishing- 
statistics ! 
In other places he speaks of the “cow fish” 
in Peru and of “Potassium iodine” in Chili ! 
Of course one does not expect all travellers 
to be infallible ; but with so many scientific 
institutions to refer to it seems an unpardon- 
able carelessness to put on record, in a book 
supposed to be authentic, such absurdities as 
the above. It is of but slight use to publish 
at this late date the correction, and inform 
the distinguished author that doves do not 
lay soft-shelled eggs in sand, leaving that to 
the alligators, turtles and iguanas ; or that the 
“cow fish” is no fish at all but a mammal ; or 
that “Potassium iodine” is as impossible a 
