4 iH Ea ACU D. OU BIOING BOUL i Eel aie 
the cost of printing a regular issue of the Bulletin. 
Another criticism by Mr. DuMont, and a justifiable one, was that the 
separate reports were not comparable. For instance, some were reports of 
a large group of observers covering a wide terrain for the greater part of 
a day, while others were brief studies made by one person for a few hours. 
An erroneous impression was given concerning “AH:” the tabulation actual- 
ly included another series of observations made a week later, in which the 
length of time spent in watching birds was not specified. 
It is obvious that some changes must be made if our Christmas counts 
are to be of any great value. From an expense standpoint, we cannot afford 
to print a table 26 columns wide. It will be necessary to limit our Census in 
a number of ways. We have obtained from Mr. DuMont a set of “Instruc- 
tions for Making Bird-Population Studies” from the National Audubon 
Society. These instructions will be observed as much as possible in setting 
up our own rules. 
First of all, the reporting group should consist of at least three experi- 
enced observers, covering an area approximately 15 miles in diameter. The 
exact size of the area is not so important as the variety of habitats covered 
— preferably marsh, open water, prairie, forest edge, and as many other 
types of landscape as may be available. The observations should be made 
for at least six hours, on a single day within the Census period. Duplicate 
or overlapping coverage of a single area cannot be permitted. Reports 
covering the highest counts over the same area taken on successive days, 
whether by the same or different observers, will not be allowed. 
These rules will make it necessary for members who wish to make a 
Christmas Count to make their plans and organize their groups in advance. 
While this may work a hardship on some members in isolated areas, it will 
certainly improve the quality of our reports. Remember that your relatives 
and young friends can be trained to become competent observers in a short 
time — and it’s always much more fun to go birding with a group, anyway. 
Your editor will make the National Society’s instructions available for 
those of you who would like to study them in greater detail. These rules will 
be re-defined in our December issue, when the dates for the next Census will 
be announced. If any of you have any suggestions or questions, your editor 
would be glad to hear from you. 
4835 Wabansia Ave., Chicago 39 
a ia fi 
Correction, Please! 
THE SOCIETY HAS heen informed that the spring bird walks in Lincoln Park 
are being conducted by Mr. Harold Lenz and Mr. John Jahns this year, 
rather than by Miss Doris Plapp. We are sorry that this error crept into 
the Bulletin. Mr. Lenz also substituted for Miss Plapp last year, during her 
illness. We send our thanks to these two gentlemen for the fine public serv- 
ice they are performing at their own expense. 
