94 



THE OSPREY. 



to contribute inniu><;-l-aphs in hannoiiy with tlie 

 plan determined upon. The elastic system 

 adopted would enable us to publish a monograph 

 of a i^enus or species when it was ready. The 

 wiirk shnirld be subject to the direction of re- 

 sponsible editors, and none would be betterqual- 

 itied to undertake the task of supervision then 

 theprincipal editor of Thk Osi'KKV, whohashim- 

 self published elejjant biof;-raphies — the best in 

 the lan}4uaj;"e — in his "Birds of the Northwest" 

 and "The Birds of the Colorado Valley." I 

 would therefore nominate him as one of the 

 editors of tlie new work. 



The names of the varions contributors should 

 appear on the title pag'e as well as at the end of 

 each article contributed. 



I have written thus at length to open the way 

 for the consideration and discussion of the ad- 

 visability and method of preparation of a new 

 Histi>ry of North American birds. I would like 

 to add otlier details, but have already encroached 

 loo much on the present number of Thk Os- 

 PKKV. Meanwhile, sug'f^'estions, criticisms and 

 information will be welcomed. 



Yours verv trulv, 



"Thko. Gii.i,. 



A Fr.\ud — Look orx kor Him ! 



Washincton. I). C February '>, 1«90. 

 Editor of Thk ( i.'^I'KKy: 



For several months past an unscrupulous in- 

 dividual has been canvassing- parts of Kentucky, 



Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario, etc.. offering; 

 to sell the publication called "Birds and All 

 Nature," or something' of the -same sort, and 

 thus obtaining money from nuinerous people 

 under false pretenses. The Chicag^o firm pub- 

 licly denoinice him as a fraud, and offer a 

 reward for his arrest. He exhibits forged docu- 

 ments purporting- to be signed liy "Robert Kidg- 

 way, Reg"ent Smith.sonian Institute," or "Presi- 

 dent National Science Association, of Washing- 

 ton." He is de.scribed as a very plausitile talker, 

 using, or affecting, the Onaker dialect: is an eld- 

 erly man with g-ray hair and beard, and has 2 or 3 

 fingers of right hand amputated at the first 

 joint. He sig-ns his name as Thos. (or Thos. S.) 

 Cowley (or Crowley); .sometimes as Thos. C. 

 Ridgway, Sr., and in various other ways. His 

 scheme is to obtain money in advance, and 

 promise to send publications, which of course 

 are never sent. Having received numerous com- 

 plaints reg'arding- the matter from his victims, 

 i write to warn the public ag'ainst him. 

 Respectfully yours, 



RoBKRT RiDC.W.iY. 



[We have also received several complaints 

 from victims of this person, have corresponded 

 with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion and the publishers of "Birds and All Nature" 

 on the subject, and are glad to open the columns 

 of Thk Osi'RKV to Mr. Ridgway's letter, in 

 hopes it may assist in stopping this fraud. — EnS.] 



Pigeon Holes. 



Capturk ok \ Skconi) Spkcimkn ok Har- 

 i,.\n"s Hawk, Butco /lar/ani.- -On January 19, 

 1899, a farmer brought me a fine adult speci- 

 men of Harlan's Hawk, a male. The bird was 

 alive, having been caught by the toe in a steel 

 spring trap, which had been set on the top of a 

 pole. In this specimen the exposed (outer) webs 

 of the tail-feathers were dark rufous, witli 

 heavy long-itudinal blotches and streaks of 

 blackish, the subterminal bar very indistinct, 

 the streaks and blotches being' .somewhat heav- 



ier. Tail white at base. Upper tail-coverts 

 dark umber brown, edged with rufous. Life 

 color of eye light hazel; cere yellowish-green — 

 nearly "apple green." Tarsi and toes dusky 

 yellow. The only other notice of capture of 

 this form in Illinois (to my knowledge) was that 

 of the specimen taken here liy me in March, 

 1879, as noted by R. Ridgway in Nat. Hist. Sur- 

 vey of Illinois.' Vol. I, page 472.— Chari.KS K. 

 WoRTHKN, Warscizc, III. 



In The Osprey's Claws. 



Birds and Ali^ Natiirk. — We are informed 

 that the stock and business of this unique peri- 

 odical have been transfered to a new publisher, 

 A. W. Mumford. 2n,> Michigan Avenue, Chicago. 

 The features which made the magazine so pop- 

 ular will be retained under the new manage- 

 ment; eight pages of text are added, and the 

 brighth' colored pictures continue to strike the 

 eye. We believe that />'//(/,? has had exceptional 

 success in the past, and seen no reason why it 

 should not continue to delight many readers. 



The Birds of Ont.\rio in Relation to Agri- 

 culture. By Charles W. Nash. Published by 

 the Department of Agriculture, Toronto, 1898. 

 Large 8vo, pp. 32, pll. 32. 



The author has pretty carefully digested a 

 larg'e amount of information in the.se few pages, 

 taking' up birds in groups, and giving' their re- 

 lations to agricultiu'e from an economic stand- 

 point. The tract is timely, useful, and should 



do much good. Mr. Nash can write quite well 

 about birds, but he should .stop trying- to draw 

 them. Let him lay down his pencil and stick 

 to the pen. The plates are the most ridiculous 

 caricatures imaginable — wor.se than the worst 

 of our own government's efforts to be ornithol- 

 og'ically picturesque, which we have supposed 

 until now to be as bad as possible. The broch- 

 ure is handsomely reprinted fi'om the Report of 

 the Farmers' Institutes of Ontario, 1897-8.— E. C. 



Bird-LorK. — A Bi-monthly Mag'azine devoted 

 to the Study and Protection of Birds. Official 

 Organ of the Audubon Societies. Edited by 

 Frank M. Chapman. The Macmillan Co., Har- 

 risburg. Pa., and New York, N. Y. Vol. I. No. 

 1. Larg-e 8vo, pp. 32. with photographic plates. 

 $1 a year. 



The appearance of this magazine realizes the 

 expectations raised by the prospectus, which 

 The OsprKV cited last month. It is what the 



