Tense ASU Ue Ue BeOrNe BYU Lei l i oN 5 
The Christmas Bird Census — 1955 
By PAUL H. LosBik 
YEAR’S END Is suddenly at hand; it is time to assess all we have done in the 
twelve months that have passed, and to look forward again to bright and 
eventful days in the promising New Year. And it is time, again, for our 
members to participate in the Audubon Winter Census of birds in Illinois. 
This annual outing is more than a pleasant activity; the results of our 
studies are used by our Fish and Wildlife experts to make their recom- 
mendations for hunting seasons and bag limits of wildfowl. 
The census period this year will be from Saturday, December 24, to Mon- 
day, January 2, 1956. Most of our participating groups had Jittle difficulty 
in conforming with the general rules, which are as follows: Birds may be 
counted only in an area roughly 15 miles in diameter; the census group must 
consist of three or more experienced birders; only those birds seen during 
one 24-hour period will be counted for a given area; duplicate or overlapping 
coverage of a single area is not acceptable; reports covering the highest 
counts for the same area on various days will not be allowed. For a more 
detailed explanation of the rules, see the December, 1954 issue of the 
Audubon Bulletin, page 2. 
The Chicago Ornithological Society invites interested birders from the 
Chicago area to take part in its annual census of the birds in the Morton 
Arboretum on Monday, December 26, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Arboretum 
is on Illinois Highway 53, one mile north of Lisle, Illinois; the meeting-place 
is the Administration Building, just inside the east entrance. Hikers should 
wear stout boots, dress warmly, and bring their own lunches. Similar hikes 
are scheduled for the Quad-Cities area, White Pines State Park, Olney, 
Princeton, Springfield, and other areas in Illinois. If you do not know the 
name of the group in your vicinity, see the list of affiliated societies at the 
back of this issue. 
Census Reports should be typed double space on one side of 8’ by 11 
paper and submitted to the Editor, Paul H. Lobik, 4835 Wabansia Avenue, 
Chicago 39, Illinois, before January 15. Copies of your report will be for- 
warded to the National Audubon Society. Please follow A.O.U. order in 
making your report and give all details as shown in our previous Census 
Records (see the March, 1955 Bulletin). Be sure to include date, terrain 
covered, miles by foot and/or auto, wind, weather, time in the field, species 
seen, numbers of each, and names of participants. The field chairman or club 
secretary is responsible for sending in the report or delegating one of his 
aides to do so. Here’s wishing all of you a good “score” — and good birding 
to all of you for the coming year! 
ft ft ft 
Birding South of the Border 
Woutp You LIke to follow your bird friends — figuratively at least — on 
their long trips south? Then you might be just the pen-pal that Larry 
Tabert is looking for. He lives at Apartado Postal 380, Veracruz, Mexico. 
Larry would like to hear from bird-watchers in the Middle West; he would 
especially like to exchange information on the subject of bird migrations. 
