70 Bird- Lore "6. Please state the facts and arguments, pro or con, which decide this problem in your own mind. " Everybody interested is requested to send in replies to the above questions before June i, if possible, to the undersigned. It is proposed to gather a consensus of opinion from all parts of this country and Canada. The data will be made public as soon as possible. (Signed) A. H. Estabrook, March 5, 1906. Clark University, Worcester, Mass. Mr. C. J. Maynard, of West Newton, Mass., announces the publication, in ten parts, two of which will be issued each month, of a ' Directory of Birds of Eastern North America.' Mr. Maynard remarks, in the recently issued prospectus of this work : "Of late years many books have been written with a view of aiding those who are beginning the study of birds. While some of these books are by trained ornithologists, hence accurate and helpful to students, many others have been written by amateurs, who are sometimes themselves mere tyros, hence more or less inaccurate. Some of these last- mentioned books are evidently compilations in which we find subtle truths and obvious errors strangely mingled. In others, the authors give condensed descriptions, at times with success, but we often note errors of commission and omission. In other words, the authors, through lack of a thor- ough knowledge of their subject, have, in many cases, mistaken individual peculiar- ities and unusual plumages for specific characters, and in other cases have given unimportant characters in place of those which are important and which should have been given. "It is unfortunate that the work of com- pilation and abridgement in ornithology has so often fallen into the hands of incompe- tent amateurs, when both should be done, to be done successfully (as any one can see upon reflection), by experienced experts, but who, as a rule, avoid work of this kind." The report of the Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey for the year ending June 30, 1905, reflects the increasing im- portance and widening scope of the activi- ties of this Bureau. The work of the year is summarized under " ( i ) investigations relating to the geographic distribution of animals and plants, including biological surveys and the determination of the life and crop belt, in charge of the chief; (2) investigations of the economic relations of birds to agriculture, in charge of Prof. F. E. L. Beal ; (3) investigations of the economic relations of mammals to agricul- ture, in charge of Prof. D. E. Lantz ; (4) supervision of matters relating to game preservation and protection and the impor- tation of foreign birds and animals, in charge of Dr. T. S. Palmer." A report on the ' Ornithological Results of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedi- tion,' by Wm. Eagle Clarke (The Ibis, Part I, 1905, 247-268 ; The Ibis, Part II, 1906, 145-187) contains biographical mat- ter of the first importance and is illustrated with some of the best photographs of Ant- arctic birds we have ever seen. Wilson's Petrel was found nesting "in thousands" on Laurie Island. This bird "did not appear until late in the fall, namely, on November 11." The first egg was taken December n. Mr. Herbert K. Job, so well known for his admirable photographic studies of birds, is engaged in preparing a book on the birds of Litchfield county, Connecticut, and requests the cooperation of all who are interested. Mr. Job's address is Kent, Conn. Mr. A. Hyatt Verrill issues, without place of publication, an unpaged, undated pamphlet entitled, 'Addition to the Avifauna of Dominica. Notes on species hitherto unrecorded, with descriptions of three new species and a list of all birds now known to occur on the Island.' One of the new species is described as Setophaga ruticilla tropica, Tropical Redstart. It is apparently based on highly colored specimens of our American Redstart.
