FEB. 4, 1921 abstracts: ornithology 61 



here presented in chronological order from December 28, 1918, to May 

 19, 1919. These observations furnish many data on the occurrence of 

 birds in these localities. In all, 97 species and subspecies were observed, 

 of which a list is given and on which notes are recorded. Of particular 

 interest is an immature great white heron taken from a nest on one of the 

 keys and subsequently sent by parcel post to the Zoological Garden at 

 Washington; and a new subspecies of clapper rail from the sixth key south- 

 west of Big Pine Key, to be subsequently described. 



Harry C. Oberholser. 



ORNITHOLOGY. — The systematic position of the ring-necked duck. N. 

 Hollister. Auk 36: 460-4G3. 1919. 

 A study of the ring-necked duck {Marila collaris) in life and in the lab- 

 oratory indicates that this species is more closely related to Nyroca americana 

 than to members of the genus Marila with which it is usually associated. 

 It is the New World representative of Marila fuligula, and in a sequence of 

 species or in the separation of allied species into generic or subgeneric groups, 

 it should be placed between Nyroca americana and Marila fuligula. 



Harry C. Oberholser. 



ORNITHOLOGY. — Federal protection of migratory birds. George A. 

 Lawyer. U. S. Dept. Agric. Year Book 1918: 303-316. 1919. 

 Game birds, particularly waterfowl, have greatly decreased in the United 

 States during recent decades. This condition has induced the various 

 states of the Union to pass numerous laws for the protection of such birds. 

 This has, however, not been sufficient, and a Federal law was enacted in 

 1913, while in 1916 the Migratory Bird Treaty between the LInited States 

 and Canada was negotiated. This treaty protects ducks, shore birds, 

 insectivorous birds, and many other migratory species. An enabling act 

 validating this treaty was passed by the Congress of the United States in 

 1918, by which statute the Secretary of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture is given jurisdiction over the administration of this law, and in 

 him is vested the authority to promulgate regulations for its enforcement. 

 Many states have already conformed their laws to the Federal regulations, 

 and the outlook for the increase of birds under such cooperation is bright. 



Harry C. Oberholser. 



ORNITHOLOGY. — Habits and economic relations of the guano birds of Peru. 



Robert E. Coker. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 56: 449-511. Pis. 53-69. 



1919. 



During the course of investigations on the guano and fishery industries 



of Peru many opportunities for observing the birds of the guano islands 



along the coast of that country were offered. The various sea birds of 



these rocky, barren islands produce annually 20,000 tons of guano, while 



between 1851 and 1872, 10,000,000 tons were extracted from the Chincha 



Islands alone. These islands, valuable as they are from a commercial 



standpoint, are not less interesting scientifically. The most important 



guano-producing bird of this region is Phalacrocorax bougainvillei, not, 



as commonly supposed, Sula variegata, which is much less valuable in this 



way than either the cormorant or the pelican. Of this species of cormorant 



there were estimated to be about 150,000 individuals on the Ballestas Islands, 



