ilooft jBtetjDs; anti 3^etoteto0 



Two Vanishing Game Birds: The 

 Woodcock and the Wood Duck. By 

 A. K. Fisher, Ornithologist Biologi- 

 cal Survey. Vear-Book U. S. Dept. of 

 Agriculture, 1901, pp. 447-456. 



Dr. Fisher's experience as a sportsman, 

 combined with his wide knowledge as an 

 ornithologist, permits l>im to speak with 

 unusual authoritativeness on the question of 

 game protection. This paper, therefore, as 

 might be expected, is one of the most prac- 

 tical, convincing contributions to the subject 

 which has come to our attention. Senti- 

 ment is an admirable thing in itself, but a 

 weak weapon when turned toward those 

 who observe the game laws simply because 

 they might be subjected to penalty for 

 breaking them; and the strength of Dr. 

 Fisher's argument lies in the hard, sound 

 undeniable facts on which it is based. He 

 ^liows the rapid decrease of Woodcock and 

 ^^'ood Duck, and then proves, and proves 

 conclusively, that if these birds are not 

 given better and more uniform protection 

 than they now receive they will become 

 practically exterminated. — F. M. C. 



Check-List of California Birds. By 

 Joseph Grinnell. Pacific Coast Avi- 

 fauna No. 3. Cooper Ornithological 

 Club, Santa Clara, Calif. 8vo. 98 

 pages, 2 maps. 



An annotated list of California birds has 

 long been one of the wants of working 

 ornithologists which the author of the list 

 under consideration is well (|ualiHed to till. 

 He enumerates 491 species and subspecies 

 as duly entitled to recognition as California 

 birds, and under each one gives, as 

 synonyms, the names which have also been 

 applied to it as a C'aliforiiia bird, and its 

 "status" or manner of occurrence. Maps, 

 based on climatic conditions, outline the 

 "life /ones" an<l "faunal areas" adopted 

 by the author, and greatly assist the reader 

 in understanding that [xirtion of the wcirk 

 which relates to distribution. 



Wliili- we should be grateful to Mr. 



Grinnell for the preparation of a paper 

 which will undoubtedly be useful, we be- 

 lieve its value would have been increased 

 by the inclusion of the dates of occurrence 

 of the rarer species, with references to the 

 publication in which their capture was re- 

 corded. Again, with no desire to be over- 

 critical, we cannot but feel that the interests 

 of ornithology in California — the ' Check- 

 List,' we understand is intended chiefly for 

 younger students — would have better served 

 had the author accepted the verdict of the 

 A. O. U. Committee by omitting numbers 

 of races which the committee has rejected. 

 Mr. Grinnell is, of course, entitled to his 

 opinion in regard to the desirability of 

 recognizing these forms, but it is unfor- 

 tunate that the "younger students " of Cali- 

 fornia's birds should be called upon to 

 learn, even by name, binls which have 

 been declared by those perhaps better 

 qualified to judge than Mr. Grinnell, not 

 worth the naming. 



In any event, there is no excuse for giving 

 these rejected forms the apparent endorse- 

 ment of the A. O. U. by placing before 

 their names, without other comment than 

 an unexplained "part," the A. O. U. 

 Check-List number. — F. M. C'. 



More Tales of vuv. Biki)>. By W. 

 Warde Fowler. Illustrated by 

 Frances L. Filler. The Macmillan 

 Co. 1902. i2mo. 232 pages, 8 plates. 



We have no American writer on birds 

 with whom Mr. Fowler can be compared; 

 his methoils differ from those of our popular 

 authors, and make his ' tales ' a singular 

 combination of tact ami fancy wliich it 

 would be ha/arilous for a less skilful writer 

 to atlempt to duplicate. His birds talk, but 

 they are a true ornithologist's bird for all 

 that, and each storv emphasizes the close 

 relation which should ami iloes exist be- 

 tween birds and man, ami is admirably 

 adapted to awaken genuine synipathy with 

 bird life. — F. M. C. 



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