OFFICERS OF THE MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Pres., Dr. Henry H. Brock, Portland
Vice-Pres., J. Merton Swain, Farmington
Sec.-Treas., Dana W. Sweet, Philips
Councillors, Dr. Wm. C. Kendall, Freeport
Walter H. Rich, Portland
W. H. Brownson, Portland Editor
Louis E. Legge, Portland Associate Editor
The Journal prints in this issue the first instalment of an interesting series of notes of birds at sea, by Dr. William C. Kendall, Scientific Assistant U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, gathered in 1891, 1894 and 1895 on the United States Fish Commission Schooner Grampus, the cruises extending from the coast of Virginia to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and even to southern Labrador. The notes for 1891 and 1894 are here printed and those made in 1895 will be published in the September Journal. We are under obligation to Dr. Kendall for this valuable contribution.
Mr. Dana W. Sweet, the new Secretary and Treasurer of the Maine Ornithological Society, has for some years compiled, in an able manner, the migration reports sent to him by members of the Society. In addition to his duties as Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. Sweet will continue to edit the migration reports, and this will be eminently satisfactory to all members.
The attempt to introduce the Hungarian Partridge into Cumberland County will be watched with considerable interest, to see whether the birds liberated will take kindly to their new habitat. In this issue Mr. Walter H. Rich writes of the circumstances attending the introduction of the bird and contributes an excellent original portrait, drawn from life.
During the winter of 1908-1909 the Bohemian Waxwing appears to have been seen by a number of reliable observers, mostly in Eastern Maine. Reports of its occurrence continue to come in, so that it is sure that the region visited by the bird was quite extensive.
All subscribers to The Journal, who have not paid for the year 1909, are requested to send their dollars as soon as convenient. The money is needed to pay the current expenses of publishing The Journal, the membership dues, which should be paid to the Treasurer, not being sufficient for that purpose. Subscribers, as heretofore, should remit to the editor.
Attention is again called to the necessity of having a good department of notes, and this can only be accomplished when the members make frequent and generous contributions. The new associate member, Mr. Louis E. Legge, has charge of this feature of the magazine, and under his direction there is no doubt that it will be a credit to the Society. It is hoped that members will not fail to respond to Mr. Legge's request for material to make a good showing.
Members who have copies of Vol. 7, No. 1, March, 1905, Vol. 8, No. 1, March, 1906, or Vol. 9, No. 4, December, 1907, and who do not care to preserve them for binding, will do a favor by sending them to the editor. The file is nearly exhausted for those issues of The Journal, and there are frequent calls for complete sets from libraries in different parts of the country. Those who have copies issued previous to 1905 should preserve them carefully and send them to the editor unless they are intended for binding. There are many of the early issues of The Journal which are now lacking, and it is getting to be difficult to make up a complete set.
Lincoln's Sparrow and Mourning Warbler in Portland, Maine.—On May 30, 1909, I received as one of the victims of a plate glass window on Bowdoin St., Portland, a Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza Lincolnii), a male in good plumage. This is apparently the fifth recorded specimen for the vicinity of Portland. On June 1, 1909, from the same source, an adult male Mourning Warbler (Geothlypis philadelphia). This appears to be the third recorded specimen for the vicinity of Portland. The other two specimens are recorded by Mr. N. C. Brown, May 31, 1876, Deering, Brown Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl., Vol. I, p. 95, and May 30, 1868, Cape Elizabeth, Me., Proc. Part. Lac., N. H., Vol. II, p. 1. Both birds are preserved and in my possession.—Miss Helen M. Lewis, Portland, Maine.
The White-Crowned Sparrow.—After walking a number of miles and visiting several places in a vain search for the White-crowned Sparrow, I gave up all hope of finding it this spring, but on May 26th I was so fortunate as to see a fine specimen of the male bird. He was perched on a post which stands at the edge of a tract of swampy land and appeared to be resting. I called the attention of my companion to him, and as he did not appear to object to our presence we took a long look at him. Should any person in this part of the state see this most interesting bird at a later date, I should be very glad to know it.—Sara C. Eastman. Portland, Maine.