THE OSrREY. 



one of the eggs had been removed from the 

 nest, and I took the remaining one. In the 

 liiislies near by were four or five young Jfyrtle 

 Warblers, evidently a first brood, as the old 

 birds seeined to divide their time between 

 them and the two in the nest. The latter 

 grew rai)idly; tliey were well feathered on the 

 2(ith, and on the 2flth had left the nest, perhaps 

 a little sooner than they would have done had 

 1 not visited them so often. The nest was 

 placed 3 feet 10 inches above the ground; built 

 of fine twigs, grasses, plant down, a few hairs, 



and many feathers, some of which overarched 

 the brim, partially concealing the cavity of 

 the nest. The nest measures: Height, 2.50 

 inches: depth, 1.75; outside top diameter, 4.00; 

 inside top diameter. 2.25. The e<rs: measures 

 0.05 X 0.50. The ground color is grayish-white, 

 wreathed about the larger end with spots of 

 reddish-brown, brownish-black and lavender. 

 The extreme end is unspotted. This case is 

 unusual, as the Myrtle Warbler ordinarily 

 rears but one brood a year. — C. H. Mokrell, 

 Pittsfield. Me., .\ugust 2, 1S98. 



In the Osprey's Claws. 



(L:o|ivri.!.'lit. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1897. i 



MR. PUERTES' spirited drawing of the talons 

 of the Osprey shows one of tlie most perfect 

 prehensile instruments to be found among 

 birds. It also indicates, qiute figuratively, of 

 course, the powerful grip of 'J'liE Ospkev on 

 whatever comes into its claws in the way of 

 books and papers for review. Good writers 

 have nothing to fear; thej' will finu our grasp 

 firm and friendly. Bad ones will discover the 

 difference between justice and mercy when 

 they feel the clutch of The Osprev"s talons; 

 and if they manage to wriggle oH tlie hooks, as 

 slippery fish sometimes do. they mai- be more 

 careful in future. The Ospeey aims to be ab- 

 solutely impartial in its reviews; it is inde- 

 pendent in all things, neutral in none that it 

 touches; its criticism .is based upon many 

 years" experience in liandling good, bad, and 

 indifferent ornithological publications, and it 

 will deal out praise or blame according to its 

 highest ideals of excellence. 



THE WILSON BULLETINisissnedbimonthly 

 by the Wilson Ornithological Chapter of the 

 .\gassiz .Vssociation. Oberlin. Ohio, and edited 

 by Lynds Jones. No. 23, or No. 6 of Vol. V, new 

 series, November 30th. completes a volume and 

 furnishes an index. The subscription is only 

 50 cents a 3ear, and of late the irregularity of 

 issue we used to notice seems to have been 

 overcome. It is a modest little magazine, which 

 can not be said of all amateur etYorts, arfd we 

 wish it all success. 



THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS OF OHIO, or 

 Glimpses of Pioneer Life. By N. E. Jones, M. 

 D. Cincinnati: The Robert " Clarke Co. 1S98. 

 Svo. p]i. vi. 363; many illustrations. 



Dr. .lones will be ])leasantly remenilicred by 

 our older readers in connection with the beau- 

 tiful illustrations of the Nests and Eggs 

 of the Birds of Ohio, published some 

 years ago, with many admirable colored 

 plates in oblong folio. His present volume 

 hardly comes within The Osprey's claws, 

 as it is mainly historical, but some features of 

 it are strictly ornithological. Chapter IV con- 

 tains some notable biographical matter on the 

 Wild Turkey and the I'ob White, with both of 

 which birds Dr. Jones is exceptionally familiar. 

 With regard to the Turkey, in particular. Dr. 

 Jones writes like the veteran that he is, and 

 we know of no biography so good as tliis one 

 since Audubon's. — E. C. 



A REVISION OP THE WRENS OP THE 

 GENUS TinnOMANES Sclater. By Harry C. 

 Oberholser. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xxi. No. 

 1153, pp. 421-450. 



The author will probably become an excellent 

 ornithologist in due course, when he overcomes 

 that exuberance of youthful entlmsiasm which 

 at present makes him amuse himself with split- 

 ting sidjspecific hairs between north and north- 

 west sides. He is an astonishing adept in that 

 occult operation, considering how few years 

 have yet passed over his ornithological head. 



