American Ornithologists' Union

“ Zoology is, in this sense, the entire biology of animals ; and we accordingly consider as essential parts of it the whole field of Animal Morphology and Physiology, including not only Comparative Anatomy and Embryology, but also Systematic Zoology, Paheontology and Zoological Philosophy. We look upon it as a special merit in Prof. Huxley that he has a thoroughly broad conception of the science in which he labors, and that, with a most careful and empirical acquaintance with individual phenomena, he combines a clear philosophical appreciation of general relations. ”

“ After Charles Darwin had, in 1859, reconstructed this most important biological theory, and by his epoch-making theory of Natural Selection placed it on an entirely new foundation, Huxley was the first who extended it to man, and in 1863, in his celebrated three Lectures on 'Man's Place in Nature,' admirably worked out its most important developments. ”

“ There was not one black and white breasted bird in that Hock, and this goes to prove that these young birds can, if necessary, migrate by themselves. But according to my observations, most of the flocks of young birds that land on the island of Nantucket while on their southern migration (they never return via the Atlantic coast in the spring) contain one or more adults, that is, until late in the season and the old birds have passed by, at which time we find few, if any, adults in the flocks with the young birds. ”

“ Any notice of this great man would be reprehensibly incomplete without some further reference to his wonderful influence upon the scientific thought of his time, and his rare gifts as a writer and lecturer. In his battles for evolution he has upheld unflinchingly what he believed to be scientific truth, and with a boldness and efficiency that has no parallel. ”

“ In common with most of the learned societies of the world, the American Ornithologists' Union has honored itself in its attempt to show respect to Professor Huxley by enrolling him in its list of Honorary Members,—as much perhaps in recognition of his eminent attainments in all fields of biological research as in the special field of ornithology. ”

“ My observations in relation to rate of speed and length of flight lead me to believe that under very favorable conditions, such as flying before a very strong wind, such birds as the American Golden Plover and Eskimo Curlew for instance, will attain a speed of one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles an hour. ”

“ In North America, as far as my observation shows, the reverse is the case with some of the Water-birds. The American Golden Plovers, Eskimo Curlews, Bartramian Sandpipers, and Black-bellied Plovers (Charadrius squatarola) all linger in the Mississippi Valley, and the last named on the Atlantic coast, on their way to their breeding grounds.
On page 51, in writing of Diving Ducks, etc., he says: "All these birds when alive and undisturbed (as also do their carcases) float so lightly on the water that they scarcely make any noticeable depression in it." ”

“ After coming down from the shores of the Arctic Ocean and the region above forest growth, their breeding home, the American Golden Plovers (as do also the Eskimo Curlews) collect in the vicinity of Labrador, where they rest a while, becoming very fat. From there they set out on their prolonged southern migration, steering boldly out to sea after leaving Nova Scotia. ”

“ Direct observations in nature have yielded the result that among flocks of migrants the older and stronger individuals are in general the leaders of the migratory host"; and adds: "He [Palmen] could not, however, have begun the treatment of this question with a more unfortunate assertion; for there is no one who has ever made observations which might support this view." I have made observations for a good many years on the Atlantic coast of North America, and I have particularly noticed many times during the migration northward of the Surf. ”

“ At some few localities investigations have been carried on to determine the primitive and natural distribution of birds in our desert regions. But these regions are not now being irrigated and probably never will be. Studies should be prosecuted now in those regions liable to irrigation. It is from these as a basis that exact comparisons can be drawn in future years, and exact values given of effects produced by such tremendous surface changes as those occasioned by irrigation and the settlement of the arid region. ”

“ This is especially marked in a male from Toronto (Aug. 24, J. H. Ames) in which the nestling plumage still covers the abdominal region while the feathers of the head and back, although fully grown, still have the downy neossoptiles attached to their tips. These specimens are of the utmost importance for they evidently show that the immature plumage of neoxena, or the first plumage succeeding the nestling down, is practically like that of the adult, while exilis, on the contrary, at this age, differs markedly from the adult. ”

“ Absolutely no shooting had been done and parties who visited the island during the summer were presented from collecting eggs. As Great Gull Island is the property of the United States Government: it will always be a breeding ground for Terns, if properly protected. The number of birds now in the colony on this island was estimated at 3500—a large increase from the previous year. Mr. Dutcher thought that the numerous cottages now built and being erected on all portions of the New York coast would present the Terns from again nesting there. ”

“ On this coast, as far as I know, the adults of the Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis) arrive first. I merely mention it, as this bird is very closely allied to the Whimbrel (Numenius phœopus) (see Gätke, page 460) . This is also the case with the Hudsonian Curlew.
Judging from the twenty-five years' shooting experience of one of my friends at one of the larger fresh water ponds in Massachusetts, where the shooting of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) has been made a specialty, it appears that they migrate in broods. ”

“ I would be extremely grateful to any one for alcoholic specimens of Hemiprocne or any species of Chætura save pelagica.—F. A. Lucas, Washington, D. C.
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Virginia and Maryland.—My friend, Mr. P. Henry Azlett, of Azlett, King William County, Virginia, recently sent me for identification an adult specimen of this bird (Milvulus forficatus) which was shot by a farmer near that place on August 31, 1895. The bird is in poor, half moulted condition. ”

“ When one thinks of numbers of individuals such as these, which cannot be grasped by human intelligence, it seems absurd to talk of a conceivable diminution in the number of birds being effected through the agency of man. ”

“ Cooke's statement that " there is a greater variety of birds among the foothills, but not so many individuals as on the plains," may represent only an artificial condition. To describe the range of an animal like the buffalo, which occurred in immense numbers over a large part of the United States, as "very rare, occurring in small herds of some half a dozen individuals each, in remote fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains," would be but illy describing the life and distribution of the hordes of the plains. ”

“ My notes on the female of neoxena are based on the original records and Mr. Hubert Brown's comparison of the two adult Toronto females, neither of which I have seen. One of these has been compared by Mr. Brewster with a bird (No. 44,087) in his collection, and which he has loaned me. Mr. Brewster remarks: "The Toronto bird is a trifle the darker on the back and the chestnut of its under parts is slightly richer, but in other respects the two specimens are almost exactly alike." This No. 44,087 is not sexed, but with little doubt is an adult female. ”

“ In the course of these studies he visited most of the countries of Europe, Greece, Asia Minor, Russia, Norway. Denmark, Heligoland, many parts of Germany and Austria, the Engadine, Holland, and parts of France. In company with Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown he undertook, in the summer of 1875, his celebrated expedition to the valley of the Lower Petchora, in northern Russia, in quest of the eggs of the Gray Plover and the Little Stint, both of which they managed to find, though they did not succeed in discovering the eggs of the Curlew Sandpiper. ”

“ It proved to be an adult male Warbling Vireo — a bird which on Long Island I had often searched and listened for in vain For some reason. this bird on Long Island is either rare or often overlooked. The latter seems the less likely in that its song is very characteristic, as well as being one of the sweetest, and most apt to attract attention of all our singing birds. ”

“ With luminous clearness, and convincing certainty, he has here established the fundamental law, that, in every respect, the anatomical differences between man and the highest apes are of less value than those between the highest and the lowest apes. ”

“ Aside from the important differ- ences exhibited by the young and female, a careful comparison of the adult males shows no substitution of colors such as we find in the phases of Ardea rufescens, Megascops, Fulmarus, or even Stercorarius. This is especially marked in the under parts, which in exilis are essentially all buffy, while neoxena has a chestnut forneck, a chestnut and black belly, and, in every instance, jet black under tail-coverts. ”

“ Huxley has enriched zoological literature, we find that in each of the larger divisions of the animal kingdom we are indebted to him for important discoveries. From the lowest animals, he has gradually extended his investigations up to the highest, and even to man. ”

“ I never knew a tree to be killed by the Sapsuckers in Michigan. The evil in California is wrought in summer when the dry season has enfeebled the tree, and this is a possible explanation of the more serious harm to the trees of this region.
I have also been interested in the species of the family Tyrannidæ. I have taken at Claremont and the adjacent canons the following species: Tyrannus verticalis, Tyrannus vociferans, Myiarchus cinerascens, Sayornis sayi, Sayornis nigricans, Contopus borealis, Empidonax pusillus, and Empidonax difficilis. In the stomach of all these were found insects ”

“ In recent years, attention has frequently been called to the importance of vertical currents in air movement as an aid in the flight of birds, Professor Langley's studies being perhaps the most important in this direction. ”

“ One day, however, as I was passing through a herd of cattle, the bird flew very low and I obtained it with a charge of number five shot. The specimen, a female, had been feeding upon carrion, and the odor from the body was as disagreeable as that from Cathartes aura. The plumage is exceptionally fine; the body is deep blue black; from the secondaries to the primary coverts, the color is rich brownish bronze. The following measurements were taken: extent of wings, 4 feet 3 inches; length, 23 inches; tarsus, 2.20; tail, 10.00; culmen, 3.00; lanceolate feathers of throat, 2.70. ”

“ In Macropteryx the deltoid is well-developed and arises from two heads as in the Passeres. In Cypseloides, Micropus, Collocalia, and Tachornis, the deltoid is single and reduced in size, being proportionally smallest in Tachornis. Finally, as stated above, the deltoid is quite absent in Chætura pelagica, this being a step beyond what is found among the Hummingbirds, where the deltoid is present though small. It would be interesting to know if other members of the genus Chætura lack the deltoid, and also what is the condition of this muscle in Hemiprocne. Dr. ”

“ Scoters (Oidemia perspicillata) in April, that many of the larger flocks of fifty to one hundred birds, are led by a full plumaged adult drake. The white markings on the head and neck, highly colored bill, and glossy black plumage render a mistake in identification unlikely.
Page 102, he thus formulates his conclusions on this subject: " 1. That under normal conditions in the case of the three hundred and ninety-six species occurring here, with the exception of a single one, the autumn migration is initiated by the young birds, from about six to eight weeks after leaving their nests. 2. ”

“ That the parents of these young individuals do not follow till one or two months later." Taking the American Golden Plover again as an illustration, I must say that without a single exception my observations show results directly opposite, the adults always preceding the younger birds, usually from one to three weeks. ”

“ The others were shot together, and proved to be an Ereunetes and a Baird's Sandpiper.—Nathan Clifford Brown, Portland, Me.
Baird's Sandpiper at East Hampton, Long Island, N. Y.—On Sept. 17, 1895, a Baird's Sandpiper (Tringa bairdii) was shot at East Hampton, Long Island, N. Y., and another bird of apparently the same species escaped. A Semipalmated Sandpiper was with them. — C. Wheaton Vaughan, New York City
The 1895 Migration of Charadrius dominicus in Massachusetts.—Nantucket Island. The prevailing wind on August 13 was N. W.; on the 14th, east; on the 15th, S. W.; on the 16th, S. E. ”

“ It was raised about four inches above the sand ; only one old bird was seen, it having been frightened off the nest. On July 7 Mr. Sandsbury and I saw one adult bird.
Symphemia semipalmata. — Nantucket. On May 2, 1895, Mr. Charles E. Snow informed me he saw five Willets at the Hummock Pond.
Totanus solitarius. — In the vicinity of the Hummock Pond, more Solitary Sandpipers have been noted this season than for a number of years. On Aug. 29, 1895, one female was taken ; on Sept. 9, three more; Sept. 10, another; on Sept. 29. ”

“ They are plenty. This had tine green eyes, the hall black, the eyelids marked with blue like very small beads to a button hole, and the neck ami head a tine glossy bright black with a bunch of side feathers on each side the back of the head."—Elliot Coues, Washington, D. C.
Another Harlequin Duck Record for Long Island.—A male Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) was shot at Orient Point (directly opposite Plum Island, L. I., where the species has formerly been taken) on November 11, 1895, and was mounted by a local bird stuffer. A female accompanied the male but was not procured. ”