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Recent Publications of the Biological 



Survey 



To the long list of invaluable publica- 

 tions for which we are indebted to the 

 Biological Survej^ of the Department of 

 Agriculture we have now to add the fol- 

 lowing: 



Department Bulletin No. 185, 'Bird 

 Migration,' is by W. W. Cooke, the lead- 

 ing authority on this subject in America. 

 It contains 47 pages, 4 plates, and 20 

 maps showing migration routes, and is, 

 in the main, based on Professor Cooke's 

 recent papers in the National Geographic 

 Magazine and Bulletins of the Survey. 

 The information, in large part original, 

 which they contained, is now brought 

 together in what, in effect, is a manual of 

 bird migration. It should be in the pos- 

 session of every student of birds, and can 

 be purchased from the Superintendent of 

 Documents at Washington for ten cents. 



Farmers' Bulletin No. 621, 'How to 

 Attract Birds in Northeastern United 

 States,' by W. L. McAtee, contains 

 exactly the information for which there is 

 now a widespread demand. There are 

 sections on 'Protection,' 'Breeding- 

 Places,' 'Water - Supply,' and 'Food,' 

 with a table giving the 'Seasons of fruits 

 attractive to birds.' This Bulletin is fully 

 illustrated and should have a wide circu- 

 lation. 



Farmers' Bulletin, No. 630, 'Some 

 Common Birds Useful to the Farmer,' by 

 F. E. L. Beal, is practically a revised 

 edition of that very useful Bulletin No. 

 54, 'Some Common Birds in their Rela- 

 tion to Agriculture,' by the same author. 

 It treats of the food-habits of some fifty 

 species, contains 27 pages and 23 figures, 

 and forms an authoritative summary of 

 the economic relations of our more com- 

 mon birds. 



Department Bulletin No. 171, 'Food of 

 the Robins and Bluebirds of the United 

 States' is by F. E. L. Beal. After discuss- 



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ing at length the food of the Robin and 

 its well-known habit of eating cultivated 

 fruits. Professor Beal states: "Briefly, the 

 conditions are: Too many birds of a single 

 species and too little of their natural food. 

 Under such circumstances, there is no 

 doubt that a law allowing the fruit-grower 

 to protect his crop when attacked by 

 birds would be proper." 



Of the Bluebird it is said: "Examina- 

 tion and analysis of the food of the Eastern 

 Bluebird fully Justifies the high esteem in 

 which the bird is held . . . During 

 spring and early summer, when straw- 

 berries, cherries, and other small fruits are 

 at their best, the bird subsists upon insects 

 to the extent of five-sixths of its 

 food. . . ."— F. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Auk. — The articles in the April 

 issue are varied, and cover a wide range 

 of subjects. Largely anatomical is Dr. H. 

 von Ihering's 'The Classification of the 

 Family Dendrocolaptidae.' He states that 

 "our classifications are more or less a 

 question of our ability to accurately judge 

 the importance of morphological charac- 

 ters for systematic use," and concludes 

 that no reason is apparent for the sub- 

 division of this "uniform and natural 

 family." 



Along similar lines, on the other hand, 

 Mr. W. DeW. Miller, under title 'Corlhylio 

 — A Valid Genus for the Ruby-crowned 

 Kinglet' urges a subdivision of the genus 

 Regulus, He finds a toe-pad, which might 

 more properly be called a foot-pad, if it 

 robs this bird of a name long familiar. 



These two contributions are contrasted 

 mainly to show how large a part individual 

 opinion plays in classifying facts concern- 

 ing which there can be no dispute. 



In lighter vein is Mr. F. H. Kennard's 

 'The Okaloacoochee Slough,' which takes 

 us into southern Florida among the 

 rookeries and out in the savannas. Some 



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