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m8 THE CONDOR [ VOL. V Joint l?Ieeting of the American Ornithologists' Union and the Cooper Ornithologi- cal Club of California HE combined forces of the American Ornithologists' Union and the Cooper Ornithological Club assembled at t, he California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, May t5 and t6. The members of the A. O. U. and their friends, about forty strong, had just completed an enjoyable trip from the east via the Santa Fd route, upon which stops were ?nade at Santa Fd, Adamana and the petri- fied forest, Grand Canyon, Hesperia in the Mohave Desert, Riverside, and Los Angeles. At Los Angeles a reception was tendered by members of the Southern Division of the Cooper Club. The meetings were held in the Lecture Hall of the Academy and the first ses- sion was called on Friday, the t5th, at tt o'clock, by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Charles R. Keyes acting as secretary. Subsequent sessions were held on the after- noon and evening of the same day, and on the following morning. An elaborate luncheon was provided on both days, by the members of the Academy, at the Poodle Dog, where good cheer was dispensed with a lavish hand. To the kindly hospitality of the Academy in large part was due the success of the meeting. During the first session Mr.'Joseph Grinnell read a valuable paper on the 'Origin and Distribution of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee,' which was followed by remarks by Dr. Merriam. Mr. Leverett Mills Loonils then read 'Recognition of Geographic Variation in Nomenclature,' in which he took issue against the present-day tendencies towards trinomial profundity. This suggestive essay was discussed by Mr. Chapman and Drs. Merriam and Dwight. During the afternoon session Mr. Walter K. Fisher exhibited a set of slides illustrating 'An Island Community, or Bird-life on Laysan.' Laysan is a little coral islet situated about 800 miles west-northwest of Honolulu, and harbors a considerable variety of sea-fowl and a few land birds, all the latter being peculiar to the island. Mr. Donald A. Cohen read an inter- esting paper, 'Some .Observations on the Prairie Falcon' which was followed by a talk by Mr. Joseph Mailliard, 'Notes on the Birds of Chili,' in which the diffi- culties of a collector in that country were vividly portrayed. Mr. Joseph Grinnell read a short paper on 'Call Notes of the Bush-tit,' followed by 'Remarks on the A. O. U. journey across the Continent,' by Mr. Louis A. Fuertes. During the evening session Mr. Frank M. Chapman gave a most entertaining lecture on 'The Bird Islands of our Atlantic Coast' illustrated with beautifully colored lantern slides. Mr. Chapman commenced with the bird community on Perc? Rock in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and sketched the principal bird islands of the coast, finishing with a remarkable flamingo colony in the Bahamas. Mr. W. Otto Emerson then took the meeting to 'The Farallon Islands,' in an illustrated talk showing many views of these celebrated bird rocks off our California coast. The Saturday morning session was occupied largely by Mr. Win. L. Finley's 'Oregon Birds Caught with a Camera,' illustrated with superb lantern slides, from photographs taken by Messrs. Bohlman and Finley. In point of interest and value this set has never been surpassed. Especially noteworthy were the series of life- history views, detailing various stages in the growth of young birds, and the do- mestic duties of many of our western species. Mr. Fuertes, by request, then en- tertained the meeting by imitating the songs and calls of a number of eastern birds. The following papers were read by title: 'The Cassin Auklet,' Howard Robert- son; 'Notes on the Bird Conditions of Fresno District,' J. M. Miller; 'Do Valley Quail Use Sentinels?' Jno. J. Williams.