2took Jktos; anb Ctetrieto* 



Philippine Birds for Hoys and Girls. 

 By Richard C. McGregor and Eliza- 

 beth J. Marshall. With illustrations 

 by Macario Ligaya. 8vo., 138 pages, 

 6 colored plates, 26 line cuts. Price, 

 Si. 50, ppd. Published by the authors, 

 care of the Bureau of Science, Manila, P. I. 



Thirty Philippine birds are described and 

 figured in this little volume which makes an 

 admirable first book of birds for children and 

 grown-ups as well. The text is well adapted 

 to attract and instruct the audience to 

 which it is addressed and the illustrations, 

 particularly the pen and inks, are most 

 pleasing. — F. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Condor. — Serious students of birds 

 will find much of interest in the general 

 articles of the March number of The Con- 

 dor. Pemberton gives an interesting and 

 well illustrated account of a visit, in May, 

 1921, to 'A Large Tern Colony in Texas,' 

 between Brownsville and Point Isabel. Here 

 no less than eight species of Terns were found 

 breeding on three islands. In order of abun- 

 dance the list included the Gull-billed, 

 Common, Least, Caspian, Royal, Black, 

 Cabot's, and Forster's. It is gratifying to 

 learn that the Gull-billed and Least Terns are 

 still abundant in this remote corner of Texas. 



In 'Notes on Fox Sparrows in California in 

 the Autumn of 192 1,' Joseph Mailliard con- 

 tinues his studies on the migration of these 

 interesting birds along the northern coast of 

 the State. From Requa south to the Mattole 

 River practically only one subspecies was 

 found — the Sooty Fox Sparrow (Passerella i. 

 fuliginosa). 



In 'A Study of Roosting-Holes of the Red- 

 shafted Flicker,' Stoner gives the results of 

 his examination of an old wooden building in 

 the outskirts of Benicia in which there were 

 seven large and nine smaller holes drilled by 

 Flickers, not for nesting-sites, but mainly to 

 secure shelter on rainy and frosty nights. 



'A Law Governing the Elevation of the 

 Nesting-Site' of Passerine birds has been 



(2 



worked out by C. K. Avcrill from a study 

 mainly of Warblers, Fine lies, and Thrushes. 

 He concludes that birds with short, round 

 wings nest low while those with long, pointed 

 wings may nest high or low. Measurements 

 of wing and heights of nests given in the 

 tables seem to bear out his conclusions. 



Among the brief notes on page 63 is a 

 record of "a pair of San Diego Titmouses 

 (Bcrolophits inornatus murinus)" collected 

 near Palmdale, which are "most like murinus 

 but are not typical of that form." It is to be 

 hoped that this plural is not typical of the 

 form advocated by the author of the note 

 for the names of such birds as the Goose and 

 the Grouse!— T. S. P. 



Wilson Bulletin. — Volume XXXIII for 

 1921 has been concluded since our last notbe 

 a year ago. We are immediately impressed 

 by the increase in size, the improved quality 

 of paper, the attractive illustrations, and, 

 above all, the improved calibre of the articles. 

 The editors state that the file of papers 

 awaiting publication far exceeds the capacity 

 of the Bulletin to handle. This is regrettable 

 from many points of view, but invariably 

 results in raising the standard of the articles. 

 Another new feature is a section entitled 

 'Notes — Here and There' conducted by the 

 Secretary, Mr. Albert F. Ganier, whose 

 activities the Club has good reason to 

 appreciate. 



Turning now to the articles, it is a matter 

 of regret that space prevents more than brief 

 notices of the more important. In the June 

 issue, Frank L. Burns has a further install- 

 ment of his paper 'Comparative Periods of 

 Nestling Life of Some North American 

 Nidicolae,' presenting valuable data in a 

 neglected field, which are concluded in 

 the December issue. Of special note is an 

 article in the September number on Nebras- 

 kan Tyrannidae by Myron H. Swenk and 

 Ralph W. Dawson. This article, as well as 

 shorter notes by the senior author in other 

 issues, bears the stamp of thorough scientific- 

 investigation backed up by judicious col- 

 29) 



