68 THE CONDOR I Vol. II Scarce in occasional dry winters. Usually some arrivals about October ?5, but bulk of'arrivals varying with seasons. ?36 ]tresfierocichla nr?via. VARtED THRUSH. Abundant winter resident. Bulk of arrivals early- in November. Leaves in April. ?37 Xalia m. ocrideals/is. WESTERN BLUEBIRD. Abundant resident.
- "Sttlnmer Resident"--breeds.
Communications. 6onccrning the Active /qcmbership of the A, 0. U. Editor Tn? Corn)on: The question has often been asked since I came to California why so few of our workers are included in the "active" list of the A. O. U. Following up this idea one is at once impressed with the fact that among our western ornitholo- gists there is a strong feeling that we, as a whole, shouhl be better and more fairly repre- sente(t in that body. When the A. O. IL was founded, I believe in 1883, there was comparatively little interest in ornithology and that mainly confined to the scientific centers of the Fast, so it was very natural that its membership at that time should be made up from that section. Cer- tainly tile timber selected at that time was so sonnd that tile ornithologists of the countrv have accepted that body as their aathoHt?- aver since, and no doubt will continue to do so for all time provided it broadens and expands to meet the changed conditions which confront it from year to year. Up to tile present time tile A. O. U. has maintained a policy of se- clusion by adhering arbitrarily to a rule that limits its active list to fifty members, to tile exclusion of many worthy workers, and I find a strong sentiment exists that this policy be changed. Right here it might be well to men- tion some of the many reasons given why the West, (and by that I mean all that section of the country not under tile direct inspection of the Eastern scientific centers) should be more fally recognized in that body. The one most often put forward is the fact'that interest, in- stead of being confined to a little coterie in the East, has spread all over the country until every state has its workers; not mere dabblers and "bird skinners," but active, intelligent workers who are covering their respective fields with credit. Take California for instance with its Cooper Ornithological Club containing a memhership of 90, supporting an organ "The Condor," which lms almost a monopoly of orig- inal articles covering western riehl notes and discoveries. Other states are forging to the' front and today instead of depending upon oc- casional expeditions and trips to these far- away points, which at best could make but a cursory examination, we have active workers on the ground tile ?ear around; in fact, now that tile East has been so thoroughly gleaned and threshed, it is to these remote parts and to these same workers that the East must look for detailed facts concerning our least known birds. It certainly is an important event when an expedition returns with a new species to describe, but it is also important to learn the life history of that species and that is what our western workers are doing today, and the facts regarding migration, distribution and habits of western birds are as important to the world as were those which gave reputation to the foumters of the A. O. U. Another reason often mentioned why tile A. O. U. should enlarge its active list, or take such action as will infuse new b]oo(.t into its veins as a specific against old age, is the fact that many of its members have completed their life work or, in other words,while they re- tain interest in ornithology, they have ceased to be "active" in the full sense of the word. One cannot say that they are entirely shelved for their's are na?aes still to conjnre by, hut their life work is behind them and in numbers are out of all proportion to an active list limit- ed to 50. I doubt if tilere are really 30 active members in the A. O.U. Fach year this fact becomes more apparent, and it is only a ?laeS- tion of time when the Union will be dominated by a handful of ?nen, if it has not already reached that point. So tilere is reason for the demand that instead of contracting while all else is expanding, it should meet the conditions which prewdl and give all sections representa- tion that represents. It has not been made plain ]low the A. O. U. tlad best meet tile question, but the simplest way woahl he to increase the number to 60 or 75, or it might provide for lhe advaucement of an "active" member after he had completed his life work to an "honorary" list, fillin the vacancy in the active list from the best ma- terial at hand; but this is oMy a n'atter of de- tail. What I wish to emphasize is the fact that there is an organization in the U.S. supported by the leading ornithologists, its "active" membership composed of men who have been, and many are now, our most active ornitholo- gists, becomit:g each year more inactive hy the shelving on m'.com?t of ill]health, or otherwiss, of its ohter n:emhers; maintaining a policy which prevents an ornithologist of equal cali- bre from taking tile place he is entitled to in tile council of the elect.
