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Bird-Lore


Nesting of Crossbills [sir James M. l.e Moinc. of Quchec, well known for his works on Canadian birds, sends us the following in- teresting note by a personal friend on the breeding of Crossbills in March. — Ed. I "Quebec, 25tii March, 1901. "1)k.k Sir James: About ten days ago I happened to be with a friend in the woods, in the vicinity of the Grand Lac, Bastonnais. In the course of one trip we had to visit several lumber camps and were told by choppers that they had during the winter, in February and March, cut down many spruce and fir trees containing nests full of young birds. We refused to believe the story unless we saw the 'young birds' with our own eyes. "At one of the camps we found a man who told us that he would endeavor to find a nest that he had thrown aside a few days before which contained three young birds. He was away for a short time and returned with one of the young. It was only partially fledged and had been hatched. I should say, about ten days previously. The young bird was not a Pine Grosbeak, but a Crossbill, of which there were thou- sands all over that section of the country. The cock birds were in their courting dress — little balls of scarlet — and singing ail day as in early June. The nests are made of moss, about the size of a football, walls about two inches thick and a small hole for the happy pair to enter their snug little home. Sincerely yours, "E. Joi.Y De Lotbiniere." Nineteenth Annual Congress of the American Ornithologists' Union I'he Nineteenth Annual Congress of the A. O. U. was held at the American Mu- seum of Natural History November 11-14, 1901. The attendance was large, the pro- gram, which will be found on the following page of Bird-Lore, was interesting, and the meeting, like all A. O. U meetings, was thoroughl)' enjoyable. At the business meeting of Active Mem- bers, held on the evening of November 11, the following officers were reelected : President, C. Hart Merriam ; Vice-Pres- idents, Charles B. Cory, C. F. Batchelder; Secretary, John H. Sage; Treasurer, Wil- liam Dutcher. Members of the Council: Frank M. Chapman, Ruthven Deane, Jonathan Dwight, Jr., A. K. Fisher, E. W. Nelson, Thomas G. Roberts, Wit- mer Stone. The by-laws of the Union were so amended that the class heretofore known as Active Members, the number of which is restricted to fifty, became Fellows, and a nev class of membership, known as Members, intermediate between Fellows and Associates, and restricted to seventy-five in number, was established. The classes of memberships composing the Union are now, therefore, as follows: Fellows, who must be residents of America, restricted to fifty in number; Honorary Fellows, usually residents of a foreign country, restricted to twenty-five in number; Corresponding Fellows, restricted to one hundred in number; Members, re- stricted to seventy-five in number; Asso- ciates, membership unlimited in number. The following Fellows were elected : Outram Bangs, Boston, Mass.; F. E. L. Beal, Washington, D. C; L. B. Bishop, New Haven, Conn.; Joseph Grinnell, Palo Alto, Cal.; T. S. Palmer, Washington, D. C, leaving only one vacancy, there being now forty-nine Fellows. Fifty-five Members were elected, leaving twenty vacancies in this new class. Their names and addresses are as follows : Francis H.Allen, Boston, Mass.; H. P. Attwater, Houston, Texas; Mrs. Florence Merriam Bailey, Washington, D. C. ; Vernon Bailey. Washington, D. C. ; Wil- liam L. Baily, Philadelphia, Pa.; Chester Barlow, Santa Clara, Cal.; Prof. George E. Beyer, New Orleans, La.; Frank Bond, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Clement S. Brimley, Raleigh, N. C. ; Herbert Brown, Yuma, Arizona; Prof. Lawrence Bruner, Lincoln. Neb.; William Alanson Bryan, Honolulu. H. Ids.; Frank L. Burns, Berwyn, Pa.; Amos W. Butler, Indianapolis, Indiana; George K. Cherrie, Brooklyn, N. Y.; John N. Clark, Saybrook, Conn.; Frank S. Daggett, Pasadena, Cal. ; Walter Deane, Cambridge, Mass. ; Prof. Barton W. Ever- man, Washington, D. C; John Fannin.