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 1920 J Fisher, In Memoriam: Lyman Belding. 33 IN MEMORIAM: LYMAN BELDING BY A. K. FISHER. Plate III. Lyman Belding, the Nestor of California ornithologists, died at his home in Stockton, California, at an early hour on the morning of November 22, 1917, at the age of eighty-eight years and five months. Death came as the result of general weakening of the system, the failing of strength and vitality due to the inroads of advanced age. The yellowing of the leaf, as he would say, ad- vanced to a point wherein the stem no longer kept its hold on the tree of life. At the time of his death he was the oldest ornithologist in America and, with a few exceptions, in the world. It was shortly after Mr. Belding took charge of collecting data on bird migration in the district comprising the Pacific coast States for the committee of the American Ornithologists' Union, in 1883, that the writer, also a member of the committee, first corre- sponded with him. Eight years later, in September, 1891, after the Death Valley Expedition, sent out by the Biological Survey to study life in the deserts of Nevada and California, had disbanded, the two met in San Francisco, and there started a long and endear- ing friendship. The first impression of Mr. Belding was that of a man of reserve tinged with diffidence; but with the mellowing effect of congenial companionship, this quiet, unassuming gentleman without effort entertained his hearers on widely varied subjects of travel, natural history, adventure, music, sports with rod and gun, and the general affairs of State and current events. With this well rounded equip- ment, coupled with his genial and lovable nature, there is little wonder that he was so popular and so eagerly sought after by old and young, especially when found in the outing season in his favorite haunts in the Sierras. It always has been a source of much regret to the writer that circumstances prevented him from joining Mr. Belding in his mountain rambling during the period when he was still active with rod and gun.