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104 THE CONDOR Vol. XVII We learn through Dr. C. W. Richmond that Mr. Ridgway Is nearly finished with the Parrots, which, with the Cuckoos and Pigeons, will comprise Part VII of his Birds o! 27orth and Middle America. The Cuckoos are already in page proof, so that the next volume is well under way. A special meeting of the Southemi Divi- sion was called at the Museum of History, Science and Art, Los Angeles, Friday even- ing, January 22, 1915. Fifty-two members and visitors were in attendance. No busi- ness was transacted, the purpose of the meeting being to hear a talk by a fellow Club member, Mr. Joseph Dixon, dealing with his experiences on a recent trip in the far north. Mr. Dixon was a member of a party engaged in gathering natural history specimens on the coast of Alaska. They visited certain of the Aleutian Islands, crossed over to the Siberian shore for a short sojourn, and then east once more to the vicinity of Point Barrow. Here they were caught in the ice and forced to remain until the following summer, the whole trip covering a period of about a year and a half. Mr. Dixon 'exhibited an interesting series of lantern slides, from photographs taken by himself, illustrating the varying fortunes of the expedition, the character of the regions visited, and certain of the birds and mam- mals encountered. This lecture constituted one of the most 'entertaining programs that has been presented to the Southern Division in recent years. Two new numbers of the Cooper Club's Avilauna series are promised for publica- tion in the not distant future. Both are in advanced stage of preparation as far as the authors are concerned. Number 11 will be "A Distributional List of the Birds of Cali- fornia", by J. Grinnell, and will aim to be an up-to-date summary of the nature of occur- rence of the 539 species and subspecies of birds now authentically credited to the State. Avilauna number 12, by A. B. Howell, will treat of the "Birds of the Southern Cal- ifornia Coast Islands". This paper will comprise practically everything that is known concerning its subject, not only dis- tributional status island by island, but ex- tended life-history narrative. The author's personal knowledge of the avifauna of the islands will be reflected in a goodly pro- portion of original matter. The Business Managers' report for 1914 recently rendered makes interesting read- ing for those Who like to watch the vigorous growth of the Cooper Ornithological Club. The membership of the Club at the close of 1914 numbered 503, which is 64 more than in any previous year. THE CONDOR for 1914 contained 278 pages, being 26 pages more than for any preceding volume. Pacific Coast Avifauna number 10 was published during the year at a cost of $376.11. The edition of this, as also of THE CONDOR, was 1000. The full report, as compiled by W. Lee Chambers, goes into great detail; an abbreviated version is as follows: Dues received during 1914 ................ $1011.67 Subscriptions during 1914 .................... 227.70 Advertisements ........ '. .............................. 32.00 Sale of Avifaunas ................................ 71.88 Sale of back Condors ............................ 101.68 Donations ................................................ 65.00 Refunds .................................................... 5.61 Total receipts .................................... $1515.54 In bank January 2, 1914 .................. 648.36 Total cash assets .......................... $2163.90 Printing of Condor .............................. $ 975.18 Er?graver's bills ...................................... 219.28 Expended on Avifauna account .......... 437.29 Editorial expenses ................................ 22.72 Business Managers' expenses .......... 162.47 Southern Division expenses ................ 27.85 Northern Division expenses ................ 40.70 Sundry expenses ................ : ......... ? ....... 56.55 Total expenditures .......................... $1942.0? In bank January 2, 1915 .................... '221.86 $2163.90 COMMUNICATION A NATIONAL BIRD CENSUS ?ditor, THE CONDOR: A preliminary census of the birds of the United States was undertaken by the Bureau of Biological Survey during the spring of 1914. The results were so en- couraging that the work is to be repeated during the spring of 1915 on a larger scale, and will probably be repeated yearly there- after in order to obtain permanent records showing the fluctuations in the bird popula- tion of the United States. Observers are particularly desired in the West and South and it is hoped that the readers of THE CONDOR will be able to render valuable as- sistance in the campaign for the coming season. Anyone familiar with the birds nesting in his neighborhood can help, more particularly as only about the. equivalent of one day's work is needed. The general plan is to select an area con- taining not less than 40 nor more than 80 acres that fairly represents the average con- ditions of the district with reference to the proportions of plowed land, meadowland, and woods, and go over this selected area early in the morning during the height of the nesting season and count the singing males, each male being considered to re?re- sent a nesting pair. In the latitude of Washington, D.C., the best time is the last week in May; in the South the counting should be done earlier; while in New Eng- land and the northern part of the Misssippi Valley about June 10 is the proper time. The morning count should be supplemented by visits on other days to make sure that all the birds previously noted are actually nest- ing within the prescribed area and that no species has been overlooked. Readers of THE CONDOR and others who are willing to volunteer for this work are