Book News and Reviews 



389 



under which this phase of the subject is 

 treated. There is also a section devoted to 

 'Scientists' which is so much to the point 

 that we cannot refrain from quoting from 

 it. 



"As for scientific collectors," Mr. 

 Baynes says, "the writer believes that 

 they should be allowed to go about their 

 work unhampered by petty restrictions 

 . . . The complaint that scientific men 

 do not do their share in the work of wild- 

 life conservation is generally unfair. It 

 is usually the cry of some conservationist 

 who wishes he were scientific, but is not 

 . . . who does not appreciate the fact 

 that the work he is doing is based largely 

 on the work of the scientist." And he adds: 

 "The backbone of this bird-conservation 

 movement is made up chiefly of the 

 scientific members of the American Ornit- 

 hologists' Union, some of whom founded 

 the original Audubon Society, and who, 

 by patient, unselfish toil through many 

 years, have laid the foundation for the 

 equally important but far more spectacu- 

 lar work being done by others who are 

 oftener in the public eye." 



One of the most valuable chapters in 

 Mr. Baynes' book is on 'Bird Clubs, and 

 how to Organize Them.' This is a field 

 which Mr. Baynes has made peculiarly 

 his own, and in which he has won a suc- 

 cess that justifies the acceptance of the 

 advice he here offers. The bird club 

 supplies the organization through which 

 the plans herein proposed for increasing 

 both our bird population and our intimacy 

 with it may be carried out. We so thor- 

 oughly share Mr. Baynes' faith in the 

 potency of bird clubs that we have asked 

 him and others to contribute to this num- 

 ber of Bird-Lore some suggestions which 

 may be of service to existing clubs and 

 encourage the formation of others. But 

 to them all our advice is, read 'Wild 

 Bird Guests,' both for its inspiration and 

 information. — F. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Auk. — The July issue of 'The 

 Auk' opens with a paper by Mr. J. C. 



Phillips on 'Some Birds from Sinai and 

 Palestine.' The account of this desert 

 region is all too brief, although, as in 

 similar portions of the earth, the birds 

 were confined almost wholly to the vicin- 

 ity of water. A colored plate of Butler's 

 Owl prefaces the paper, the third known 

 specimen of this rare bird having been 

 secured. 



It is a far cry from the Dead Sea to the 

 coast of Brazil and to the shores of 

 Alaska, but we may turn to 'The Bird 

 Life of Trinidad Islet,' by Mr. R. C. 

 Murphy, and to the 'Summer Birds of 

 Forrester Island, Alaska,' by Mr. Geo. 

 Willett. On pelagic Trinidad none but 

 'countless hosts' of sea birds are found, 

 while on coastal Forrester many land 

 birds augment a large sea-bird popula- 

 tion, estimated by Mr. Willett at 333,640 

 breeding individuals. E.xcellent half- 

 tones accompany both papers, and there 

 is a detailed map of Trinidad. It 

 was on this isolated island that Mr. 

 Murphy obtained a new bird, the Snowy- 

 mantled Petrel. His half-tones show skins 

 of the three supposed species of Petrels 

 found on the island, and several birds in 

 flight. 



Notes 'On the Nesting of Certain Texas 

 Birds,' by Mr. G. F. Simmons, records the 

 breeding of some thirty species in Harris 

 County, the character of the country 

 being nicely shown by half-tones. An 

 instructive paper by Dr. C. W. Town- 

 send, 'Notes on the Rock Dove (Columba 

 domestica),' points out the fact that in a 

 large majority of the tame Pigeons which 

 we see about our city streets and else- 

 where, there has been a reversion in color 

 to the ancestral type. Habits and affini- 

 ties are also discussed. 



Mr. A. H. Wright contributes a fifth 

 and final instalment of his 'Early Records 

 of the Wild Turkey.' It is a great pity 

 the many citations have not been gath- 

 ered in a bibliography at the end of the 

 paper, instead of being scattered as foot- 

 notes among so many pages. This is, 

 however, no serious reflection on the 

 excellent presentation of a difficult sub- 

 ject. In an article with a half-tone on 



