VOL- I.] Recent Literature. 



249 



ing, 1890, it is evident that the bird has rapidly grown scarce. I 

 can testify myself that from my first observation of it in California, 

 in 1855, 1 have seen fewer every year when I have been in localities 

 the most suitable for them. There can be little doubt that unless 

 protected our great vulture is doomed to rapid extinction. 



The causes of this are not hard to perceive. Besides poison used 

 to kill wild animals on which the vultures then feed, two others may 

 be given. One is the much less abundance of cattle, sheep, etc., 

 kept in those parts of the State, where grazing is giving w^ay to ag- 

 riculture and fruit-raising. The other is the foolish habit of men 

 and boys, who take every opportunity of shooting these birds, 

 merely because they are so large and make good marks for their 

 rifles when they w^ant to practice at vultures' heads as a preparation 

 for the annual turkey shooting in the fall. Some may even believe 

 that the vultures may injure their live stock, but with little reason. 



Several years ago some liberal-minded legislator got a bill passed 

 in this State forbidding the killing of this bird, for the reason that it 

 is useful as a scavenger and not injurious. Very few of the present 

 inhabitants of California probably know that there is such a law, and 

 its annual pubhcation as one of the game laws might help toward 

 enforcing it. The vulture is certainly worth preserving if possible, 



for it is one of the native curiosities of the west coast, known from 

 Lower California to Puget Sound, and the largest land bird of North 

 America. In some of the Gulf States even the turkey buzzard 

 and little black vulture are'protected by law on account of their use- 

 fulness in consuming dead animals. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



Land Birds of the Pacific District ^ by Lyman Belding.* This 

 work forms a valuable catalogue of the birds inhabiting the 

 ''Pacific District,*' including California, Oregon, Washington and 

 Nevada. Tt is based on the original observations of Mr. Belding 

 and a number of volunteer assistants, together with references to 

 most of the important publications relating to the ornithology of 

 this region. Localities are cited at which each species was observed, 

 together with annotations, generally very brief, as to its abundance, 



Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, II. 



