Changes in Rarities Committee membership On 25 th March 1972 P. A. D. Hollom retired from the Rarities Committee. He had given it 13 years' unstinting service and had been chairman ever since it was set up in 1959; he was also the last of the founder members and all concerned owe him a great debt. His intimate knowledge of the avifauna of, in particular, the western Palearctic remains second to none and this will be greatly missed. Equally sad will be the loss of his sensitive judgment, which stemmed essentially from his understanding of the position of the observer in the recording of rarities. At the annual meeting of the Rarities Committee on 25 th March I was appointed chairman in Mr Hollom's place, but his departure still leaves us one short of the full complement and the committee now recommends that R. J. Johns, who is willing to serve, be appointed to fill this vacancy. He combines great expertise in identification and a wide experience of several European countries and also Turkey and North Africa with a real interest in the researching of field-characters. In recent years Mr Johns has reached the unique position of having seen more species in Britain and Ireland than anyone else has ever done and his acquaintance in the field with observers who are particularly oriented towards rarities is also extensive. It is therefore hoped that his membership will be widely endorsed. If, however, any ornithological body, bird observatory or individual wishes to