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 98 BULLETIN OF THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. Cooper BULLETIN o the Ornithological Club OF CALIFORNIA. Publisled bi-molthlyat Santa Clara. Cal., in the interests and as Official Organ of the Club. CMSTER BA. RLOV', Santa Cl .... Cal., Editor-in-Chief. HENRY REED TAYLOR, Alameda, Cal. HOWARD ROBERTSON, Box 55, Sta. A.. Los Angeles. Associates. DONALD A. COHEN, Alameda, CaL, A. I. McCORMICK, Bradbury.- Block, 1,s Angeles. Business .Managers. Subscription, (in advance) One Dollar a Year. Single Copies, - ...... 25 Cents. Six Copies or more ot one issue, 2 Cents Each. Foreign Subscription, - ..... $Lz5. Free to Honorary Members and to Active .Members not in arrears for dues. Advertising rates will be sent on applicatiom Advertisements and subscriptions should be sent to. the Business Managers. Exchanges should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief. Notes of interest and striking ornithological photo- grapls'for illustration are solicited trom members. When extra copies are desired, they should be ordered at the time of co nmunicating the article. Write plainly and confine your article to one side of the sheet. Copyright x899, by tle Cooper Ornithological CluB. Entered at the Santa Clara Post-office as second class This issue of the 11ulletin was rotled Sep, EDITORIAL NOTES. With this issue the BULLETIN publishes Mr. W. W. Price's list of the winter birds of the Lower Colorado Valley which is the first of numerous valuable lists to appear in its col- umns from time to time. Local lists, those covering defined areas which are subject to certain peculiar climatic conditions, as well as lists which represent the ornithology of cer- tain mountainous districts or rivers, all have a value, that of a purely local list being of rel- atively less value than one covering a gelmr- ally known region of interest. The value of a list is enhanced i a measure by its topograph- ical preface which should and usually does precede the list proper, thus giving the reader a perfect idea of the enviromnents in which the birds noted are fonnd, and from which much may be learned of the preferences of in- dividual bird species for certain fanhal areas. A list of any section of unusual interest otme recorded becomes a basis for future workers in the same region and there remain many areas in California from which thorough lists would be of value to present and future bird students. Each member of the Club should work up as eonlplete a list as possible of his county, to which he may add from year to year, always finding in the extension of his list an incent- ive to hunt out and add new records as time permits him to go afield. Contributions which have appeared in the BULLETIN for I899, with very few exceptions, have been from members of the Cooper Club. All articles appearing in the BULLETIN consti- tute, in a sense, the proceedings of the Club, and papers which are indicated as having been read before a meetit, s of either Division do not of necessity bear any distinction over those which are printed without the usual pre- sentation before the Club. The transactions of the Club are formally presented to a majority of its members for the first time through the BULLETIN and whether or not a paper is given a formal reading depends largely upon the date of its receipt. Thus all eontributiotm are placed ou an equal footing in-so-far as their status as a part of the "proceedings" of the Club is concerned. Our modest though wide-awake contempor- ary, the Oolo;ffisl, has introduced a pleasing, valuable and interesting feature iu its June- July number in the form of a complete biblio- graphy of the ornithological articles appearing in current North American scientific jaurnals. Thus at a glance, one may know just what has been published from the titles of the articles, and by a simple index the magazine in which the article was printed is indicated. This de- partment of the Oo[t2ist will prove a satisfac- tion to all ornithological workers, who will also appreciate a recent photograph of Mr. Lattiu appearing as frottispieee in the same issue. In the ,4uk for July, I899, appears a brief, sensible discourse in which is shown the fal- lacy of the argument recently introduced by various writers in attempting to mitigate the sentiment which has attached to the needless killing of birds by bringing up the proposition that it is just as cruel to kill domestic fowls. The writer shows that in the ease of the do- mestic fowl it is within the province of man, dud to his interests, to keep even the ratio of supply to those destroyed. With the birds, man's agelmy is simply to kill, without the means or ability to restore. With the next and last. nmnber of the year we shall print a complete list of the rimtubers of the Club, together with their curreut ad- dresses. By the way, non-subscribers will ob- serve that the BULLETIN is nearing its first mile stone, haviug appeared promptly on or before the fifteenth of each publishing month, and those who wish the file complete will do well to order while it is possible to secure the back numbers. The BULLETIN aims to pre- sent the latest and freshest bird news, a point on which we invite comparison. What has become of the Life History Com- mittee of the Sontheru Division and the ex- cellent plan of work upon which it com- menced ? A charming paper by Mr.' A. W. Anthony entitled "A Night at Sea" will be one of the features of our November number.