36o 



Bird -Lore 



arena with 'Remarks on the Case of 

 Roosevelt vs. Thayer, with a Few Inde- 

 pendent Suggestions on the Concealing 

 Coloration Question.' We notice, too, 

 a letter from J. Grinnell, complaining 

 brusquely about the A. O. U. Check-List, 

 to which W. Stone makes a quiet and 

 dignified reply. 



The death of the distinguished German 

 ornithologist, Wilhelm Blasius, and that 

 of the engraver, J. G. Keulemans, whose 

 fine colored plates of birds are known the 

 world over, are recorded among 'Notes 

 and News.' 



To errata might be added a good many 

 other slips of the proof-reader, but we 

 will now call attention only to p. 388, 

 line 16, where "Dennett" should read 

 Sennett.— J. D., Jr. 



The Condor. — The September num- 

 ber of 'The Condor,' although an unusually 

 large one, contains only three general 

 articles. The first of these, Ray's 'Dis- 

 covery of the Nest and Eggs of the Cali- 

 fornia Pine Grosbeak,' is one of the most 

 valuable contributions to the life history 

 of the West Coast birds which has been 

 made in recent years, and is comparable 

 with Finley's notable account of the life 

 history of the California Condor, which 

 appeared in 1906 and 1908. Thirty pages, 

 illustrated by seventeen half-tones, are 

 devoted to the Grosbeak, a review of its 

 history, and an account of the finding of 

 the nest, all admirably presented with a 

 wealth of detail. In the introduction is 

 given a table showing only sixteen re- 

 corded occurrences of the bird since the 

 first specimen was collected by Dr. J. 

 G. Cooper, in Johnson Pass, California, 

 Sept. 22, 1863. As the year 1910 has been 

 made memorable in the annals of Cali- 

 fornia ornithology by Ray's discovery of 

 the eggs of the Gray-crowned Rosy 

 Finch, on Pyramid Peak, so 191 1 will be 

 notable for the even more interesting find 

 of the eggs of the Pine Grosbeak. On 

 June 19, while the ground was still covered 

 with snow, two sets, each containing three 

 eggs, were collected not far from Pyramid 

 Peak, at an altitude of 8,000 feet. The 



first nest was made of rootlets, and was 

 built in a fir sixteen feet from the ground; 

 the second was placed in a hemlock, 

 thirty-five feet from the ground, and was 

 composed of fine, light-colored grasses, 

 resting on a platform of small dead hem- 

 lock twigs and a few stems. The eggs 

 are described as Nile-blue, marked with 

 black or deep brown spots and blotches, 

 roughly arranged in the form of a wreath, 

 chiefly around the larger end, and vary- 

 ing in size from .98 x .71 to 1.06 x .68 in. 



Howell's 'Notes from Todos Santos 

 Islands,' opposite Ensenada Bay, Lower 

 California, include observations on 32 

 species made during a five -days visit, 

 from April 15 to 20, 1910. The only 

 water-birds breeding on the two islands 

 were the Western Gull, Farallon and 

 Brandt's Cormorants, and the California 

 Brown Pelican. 



Jewett's paper on 'Some Birds of the 

 Saw Tooth Mountains, Idaho,' contains 

 notes on 35 species observed in the vicinity 

 of Ketchum and Rook Creek, between 

 October 24 and December 20, 1910. With 

 the exception of the Western Robin^ these 

 were all winter residents. 



The number closes with the annual 

 'Directory of the Cooper Ornithological 

 Club,' containing the names and addresses 

 of 6 honorary and 410 active members. — 

 T. S. P. 



Book News 



'Air Craft' (New York) for September 

 has an article (pp. 212-215) by Will 

 Simmons on 'The Gull versus the Wind.' 

 It is illustrated by original diagrams and 

 sketches, and is distinctly an important 

 contribution to the study of a subject 

 which still presents much that is but 

 little understood. 



The program of the Hartford Bird 

 Study Club for 191 2-13 presents a definite 

 program for each of the thirty-five stated 

 meetings of the Club from September 17, 

 1912, to June 21, 1913. The Club is to be 

 congratulated on possessing a board of 

 managers which can plan so attractive 

 a series of papers and field meetings. 



