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96 THE CONDOR Vol. XV basis. As it is impracticable, if not impos- SlU?e, 1or any one man to lcnow and keep in touch with all ot the competent observers anu comrmutors in l?orrn ?xmerlca, it has seemed Pest to p?ace tnls worlc in the hands oI competent leaders in various sections, who are ntteO anct wlhmg to take cllarge oI the work in tl?elr particular localities, to endeavor to arouse interest among tl?elr acquaintances in collecting lnlormatlon, to secure contr10u- lions Iroal competent and relia01e observers, and to. pass judgment on the accuracy and re- lla01llty ol wnatever they send in for pu01ica- lion. The fOndwing well-known western orni- thologists are aredig those who have already generously volunteered to serve in this capac- ity: Mr. JEdw, t(. Warren for Colorado; Mr. Aretas A. 5auncters for Montana; Mr. Allan 5rool?s tor t3rltish Columma; Mr. S. Rath0un tor Washington; Mr. Wm. L. Fin- ley ?.or Oregon; and Mr. A. B. Nowell for California. Nearly all of these collaborators have re- ported more or less success in arousing in- terest in the work among their correspon- dents, and considerable material has been sent in and filed away for future use; but in fax too many cases the results of their labors have been disappolntingly small. Eighteen life histories have already been written, but as they contain mainly the re- sults of the author's personal observations, together with such quotations from published material as seemed desirable to make .them more nearly complete, they are open to ad- ditional contributions from others, as well as final revision. Preference will always be given to original contributions; quotations from published literature will be reduced to a minimum and contributors will be given full credit for whatever material they furnish. Mr. Bent already has in his own field-note= nearly enough material to write the life his- tories of over half of the species to be in- cluded in the 'next volume, but, even after ex- hausting all the material contained in the pub- lished literature on the subject, there are ?ur- prisingly few species regarding which we have sufficient material for even fairly complete life histories. An extensive study of the pub- lished material brings to light some interest- ing facts; a vast amount of data has been published on migration and distribution; nest- ing habits have been written up more .fully than any other phase of the subject, and much ha? been written about the food of birds, par- ticularly from' an economic standpoint,; but the exact period of incubation and of the de- velopment of the young has been carefully worked out for very few species, the sequence of plumages in the water-birds has been sadly neglected, and comparatively little has been published on winter habits. For many of the water-birds, only the most tneagre life histories could be culled from the published literature on the subject. To col- late and compile in an extensive work on this subject all that has been published relating to the life histories of North American birds is an undertaking well worth while; but the value of any work of this kind is greatly em hanced by a liberal addition of original ma- terial, which was a marked feature of Major 16endlre's work. There are few ornithologists who cannot find the time to study effectively some phases of the life histories of one or more species which are readily accessible. There is much information, which is badly needed and which could easily be obtained; much information of vall?e lies buried in the field-notes of nearly every observer; even fragmentary notes are often valuable as contributions to life his- tories; and it is only by collecting as much of this material as possible that we can hope to get anything even approaching complete- hess. All possible information is desired on the following. points in the lif? histories of as lnany species as are available for study: 1. Extent and dates of spring migration. 2. Date of arrival on breeding grounds. 3. Mating performances. 4. Location of nest. 5. Con- struction of nest. 6. Number of eggs and date of laying. 7. Period of incubation. 8. Do both sexes incubate? 9. Number of broods in a season, with dates. 10. Food and de- velopment of young. 11. Sequence of plum- ages to maturity. 12. Seasonal moults of adults. 13. Food and feeding habits of adults. 14. Flight; swimming or diving habits. 15. Behavior with relation to other species. 16. Vocal powers and their significance. 17. Ex- tent and dates of fall migration. 18. Winter home and habits. Californians should correspond with our own state representative, Mr. A. B. Howell, Covina, California. COMMUNICATION MISINFORM -TION Editor TI?. CONNOR: As an instance of crass scientific ignorance I believe that Mr. Wm. D. Boyce, as evidenced in his "Illustrated South America", recently published by Rand, McNally & Co., quite sur- passes anything I have seen. He mentions finding in Peru "doves' eggs, which are found deposited in the sand on the banks of the streams. The doves do not 'set' 'on their eggs, but let the sun hatch them out. The eggs do not have a shell like our birds' eggs, but a tough film like a snake egg." I assure you this is verbatim, and written by a man who has travelled extensively and apparently for the purpose of gather)ng and publishing statistics ! In other places he speaks of the "cow fish" in Peru and of "Potassium iodine" in Chili! Of course one does not expect all travellers to be infallible; but with so many scientific institutions to refer to it seems an unpardon- able carelessness to. put on record, in a book supposed to be authentic, such absurdities as the above. It is of but slight use to publish at this late date the correction, and inform the distinguished author that doves do not lay soft-shelled eggs in sand, leaving that to the alligators, turtles and iguanas; or that the "cow fish" is no fish at all but a mammal; or. that "Potassium iodine" is as impossible a