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Life Histories of North American 

 Petrels and Pelicans and Their 

 Allies, Order Tubinares and Order 

 Steganopodes. By Arthur Cleveland 

 Bent. 8vo. xii+343 pages, 69 full-page 

 half-tones. Bull. 121 U. S. Nat. Mus.. 

 1922. 



The appearance of this, the third of Mr. 

 Bent's splendid series of 'Life Histories,' 

 indicates that his great undertaking is pro- 

 gressing as rapidly as all the circumstances 

 which lie between the field-book and the 

 printed page permit. 



Mr. Bent appears to have drawn on every 

 available source of information, adding to 

 the results of his own wide experience the 

 studies of others. The whole, therefore, 

 makes a truly adequate summary of our 

 existing knowledge of the species treated. 

 We regret that Mr. Bent has departed from 

 the commendable practice pursued in his 

 two earlier volumes, of using the nomen- 

 clature of the current edition of the 'Check- 

 List' of the American Ornithologists' Union, 

 rather than that of an unpublished edition 

 which, at the best, will not see the light for 

 several years. The object of scientific 

 nomenclature in popular works is to identify 

 the birds to which the names in question are 

 applied, not to reflect the latest fashion in 

 nomenclature; and this it seems to us can 

 best be done by using an existing available 

 standard rather than one which has not yet 

 appeared. May we also suggest the desir- 

 ability of including in subsequent volumes 

 of this notable series fuller reference to those 

 which have already appeared than is con- 

 tained in the Introduction to this one. — 

 F. M. C. 



The Canary Islands, Their History, 

 Natural History and Scenery. By 

 David Bannerman. 8vo. xvi+365 

 pages. Colored plates, photographs, and 

 maps. Gurney and Jackson, ^^ Pater- 

 noster Row, London. 



We call the attention of Bird-Lore readers 

 to Mr. Bannerman's work, not because we 

 believe that any of them expect to visit the 

 Canary Islands, or are even especially inter- 



ested in their birds, but because it presents 

 in such an admirable, instructive manner the 

 results of expeditions made primarily for the 

 study of bird-life but which have resulted 

 also in obtaining much general information 

 in regard to the origin of the islands, their 

 physical characteristics and history. 



The whole, therefore, has the combined 

 value and interest of a general book of travel, 

 a naturalist's narrative, and a specialist's 

 conclusions in a field where he can speak with 

 authority. All in all, therefore, Bannerman's 

 'The Canary Islands' is a model work and 

 his publishers have given it a most attrac- 

 tive form.— F. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Auk. — In the October number, 'A 

 Study of the Nesting of Mourning Doves,' 

 by M. M. Nice, is a more or less statistical 

 statement based on between two hundred 

 and three hundred nests observed at one 

 locality in two seasons. It can well serve as 

 a model for studies of this sort. Intensive 

 observation of individual nests unquestion- 

 ably yields results which can be obtained in 

 no other way, but here, on the other hand, 

 we gain an idea of how much of interest can 

 be gleaned by comparison of a wealth of 

 nests observed. "About a third of the 

 nests were placed at 10 feet or lower, and 

 about two-thirds from 12 to 20 feet." . . . 

 "About two-thirds of the nests were found 

 on branches, and one-third in crotches," 

 with a preference for crotches in early spring. 

 "A little more than half" of the crotch nests 

 were successful, but only "slightly more than 

 a fourth" of the branch nests. Building, 

 material, height, etc., of the nest, use of 

 other nests, incubation period, number of 

 eggs, growth of the young, length of time 

 brooded, length of time they remain in the 

 nest, etc., are treated, and the article is to 

 be concluded in an ensuing issue. 



A. L. and H. L. Ferguson find that autumn 

 Hawk flights along the coast at Fishers 

 Island, N. Y., are correlated with clear. 



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