12 IH EA UDUBON- BULLE Diem 
Our Check List 
The first copies of our new Check List of the Birds of Illi- 
nois came from the bindery the second morning of the A. O. U. 
meeting in Chicago, October 25, and the first copies to be 
distributed went to ornithologists such as Frank Chapman, T. 
S. Palmer, Lynds Jones, Harry Oberholzer, Arthur A. Allen, 
and others. Everywhere comment of the most flattering nature 
occurred. It was admired for its compactness of form, its 
authoritativeness, its unique contributions to bird study in 
Illinois and adjoining states, etc. A few days later a friendly 
reference in the Chicago Tribune by Bob Becker brought in 
mail orders for the List from every direction. From Mr. T. 
Gilbert Pearson, President of the National Association of 
Audubon Societies came a message of approval and congratula- 
tion. 
The Illinois Audubon Society has reason to be proud of its 
accomplishment. The Check List is well-printed and attrac- 
tively bound and its convenient size (414 by 714 inches), its 
broad margins inviting pencil notes, its symbols of range, nest- 
ing habits and occurrence, make it an extremely useful hand- 
book. The zonal map prepared by Mr. Gault and Mr. Ridg- 
way is a valuable contribution to the geography of the bird 
fauna of the Mississippi Valley. The long delay in the final 
issue of the Check List from the press after the first announce- 
ment of its preparation has been due to the desire to make all 
of its details as accurate as possible. All of this has involved no 
little expense and the Society has been obliged to fix the price 
of the List at fiftv cents, post paid. The distribution of the 
Check List is sure to stimulate the intelligent observation of 
bird migration and nesting occurrence in I[llinois and our mem- 
bers can perform a most useful service by purchasing a copy 
and soliciting orders for copies from friends and acquaintances. 
From the Preface to the Check List the following para- 
graphs are reprinted: 
A tentative “Check List” of Illinois birds appeared in the 
Spring 1917 Bulletin of the Illinois Audubon Society and again 
with certain revisions in the succeeding number. The value of 
efforts of this sort was so evident that it was decided to under- 
take the preparation of a check list which would recognize as 
far as possible all authenticated data relating to the occurrence of 
birds in Illinois, and serve as a standard for the recording of bird 
notes in every section of the state. The so-called “Comprehen- 
sive Check List of the Birds of Illinois,” which occupies the. 
greater portion of this booklet, is the outcome. It is the work 
of Benjamin T. Gault, a member of the Board of Directors of 
the Illinois Audubon Society, and an ornithologist whose peculiar 
fitness for this task is known to all students of bird migration in 
the Illinois area. For many years an accurate and discriminat- 
ing observer, he had accumulated private records which have 
