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Bird - Lore 



borrowed from various duly acknowledged 

 sources, though we think it would have 

 been well to state that those accredited 

 to the American Museum of Natural 

 History are from groups in that institution. 

 The sixteen colored plates were prepared 

 especially for this work. They exhibit a 

 high order of artistic excellence without, 

 however, revealing that talent for ])ird 

 portraiture which distinguishes, for ex- 

 ample, the work of Fuertes. — F. M. C. 



Camps and Cruises of ax Ornitholo- 

 gist. By Frank M. Chapman. D. 

 Appleton and Co., New York. 1908. 

 8vo. 432 pages, two colored plates and 

 250 photographs. $3, postpaid. 



One of the most interesting popular 

 works on birds recently published is 

 Chapman's 'Camps and Cruises of an 

 Ornithologist.' It is ostensibly a record 

 of the field work undertaken by the author 

 during the last seven years, while collect- 

 ing material for the 'Habitat Groups' of 

 North American birds for the American 

 Museum of Natural History. These 

 groups are designed to illustrate not only 

 the habits and haunts of the birds shown, 

 but also the country in which they live. 

 The arrangement of the book is geographi- 

 cal rather than strictly chronological, and 

 the narrative is accompanied by a wealth 

 of illustrations which renders the scenes 

 described more realistic than would 

 otherwise be possible. 



The book is divided into eight parts, 

 each devoted to a definite region. Begin- 

 ning with 'Travels About Home,' the 

 reader is given an insight into the habits 

 of Jays, Meadowlarks, Nighthawks and 

 other birds which are common in southern 

 New York and northern New Jersey, and 

 in the next three parts is introduced to a 

 series of typical bird colonies along the 

 Atlantic coast, from Long Island to the 

 Bahamas. Here the author is at his best, 

 for, in connection with his studies of the 

 habits of the Fish Hawk, the Brown 

 Pelican and the Flamingo, he has made 

 some of his most notable contributions 

 to the life histories of birds. Part V con- 

 tains accounts of special trips in 1906 to 



Nebraska in search of the Prairie Hen, to 

 Wyoming for material for illustrating the 

 nesting habits of the Golden Eagle, and 

 to southern Arizona to study the bird 

 life of a cactus desert. 'Bird Studies in 

 California' (Part VI), are based on two 

 visits, one in 1903, with a party of the 

 American Ornithologists' Union, and the 

 other in 1906. In Part VII is given an 

 account of ' Bird Life in Western Canada,' 

 and in Part VIII will be found the author's 

 'Impressions of English Bird Life,' es- 

 pecially at Selborne, the New Forest, the 

 Fame Islands and Bass Rock. 



The illustrations, which include 250 

 photographs from nature by the author, 

 form one of the most attractive and valu- 

 able features of the book. Those of the 

 Fish Hawks, Skimmers, Pelicans and 

 Flamingos easily rank among the best ever 

 made of these birds, while several of those 

 of other birds illustrate habits not generally 

 known. 



It may seem ungracious to criticize a 

 book of this kind on account of its omis- 

 sions, but it is certainly to be regretted 

 that the scope of the volume was not 

 e.xtended to include the author's trips to 

 other parts of the United States and 

 Canada, and to Mexico and Trinidad, 

 instead of confining it to the trips made 

 during the last seven years. 



Certain evidences of haste in the make- 

 up of the volume appear in the form of 

 typographical errors and discrepancies in 

 dales, which detract somewhat from the 

 high standard otherwise maintained. 

 These defects, however, are easily cor- 

 rected, and will probably be eliminated 

 in tlu' next edition. But, after all is said, 

 the author is to be congratulated on having 

 brought together a multitude of interesting 

 observations, and on having made an 

 important contribution to the small list 

 of books of travel by .Vnierican naturalists. 

 — T. S. P. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Condor. — The January number 

 of 'The Condor' contains several papers 

 on the birds of wirlely separated regions. 



