64 



THE OOLOGIST 



the Moa in some of tlie niuseunis. We are 

 iudebteil tor most of the facts in this account 

 of Diornis maxinms to Forest and Stream. 



Jlcccut J^^bUcation6. 



No. 34 of Wm. Wesley's Book Circular 

 on Oriiitholoiiy has been received. It is a 

 complete list of the more important works 

 publislRMl in this country and in P^uropc on 

 this subject, and forms also a valuable cir- 

 cular of reference. 



Notea on the Ornithology of Southern 

 Texas, by Dr. James C. Merrill. — South- 

 ern Texas is the grand avenue of many spe- 

 cies of migratory birds, which prefer the 

 laud route in their passage to the more 

 southern countries ; and it is one of the 

 best regions in North America for the study 

 of ornilhulogy. Here many of the species 

 which spend the winter in the south are 

 found ; and here, also, is the rendezvous of 

 a large number of species from the east and 

 west, and from the south. Mexican birds 

 of many species cross the line, and our list 

 is thus gradually increased. We have too 

 little space to presume to quote from Dr. 

 Merrill's notes, but certainly he has done 

 much toward solvin^i: some of the ornitho- 

 logical problems of the regions explored by 

 him. He is to be credited with the discov- 

 ery tliat many species occur in Texas, of 

 which nothing was known a few years ago. 

 Among the species which are specially in- 

 teresting, are the Green Finch {Emherua- 

 gra rufivirgata), Bronzed Cow-bird (ilio- 

 luthrus oeneus), MyiarcJius erytJiroccrcus, 

 var. cooperi, Nydidromus aUnrolUs (illns- 

 trat'd), Amazilia fuscicaudata, White-tail- 

 ed Buzzard (Buteo alhicaudatus) , White- 

 faced Glossy Ibis (^Plegadis guaraujia). 



The papers published in the Bulletin of 

 the National Museum, containing Mr. O- 

 ber's lists of birds of the islands of Domin- 

 ica, St. Vincent, Antigua, Barbuda, Gre- 

 nada and Martinique, are an important con- 

 tribution to the literature of ornithology. 



The material obtained by Mr. Ober has been 

 placed in the Smithsonian Institution. This 

 ornithologist has done much toward deter- 

 mining the avi-faunal relations of these is- 

 lands ; and in resolving the species, Mr. G. 

 N. Lawrence has added largely to the val- 

 ue of the papers. 



We note with regret the suspension of the 

 Valley Naturalist . It has for a year held 

 a good position as an exponent for western 

 naturalists ; and in concliology, entomolo- 

 gy, and perhaps geology, it has been valu- 

 able to the student. 



Birds of the Colorado Valley ; Part I., 

 by Dr. Elliott Coues. — It would be pre- 

 sumptuous in us to endeavor to properly no- 

 tice this work. It has been carel'ully and 

 detailedly described by the press throughout 

 the country, and it is enough that we should 

 class it among those works which are an 

 ornament and a monument to American or- 

 nithology. It bears, throughout, the stamp 

 of that excellence which Dr. Coues always 

 displays in his ornithological work ; and as 

 a hand-book of the birds of the Colorado 

 Valley, it holds a high position in our 

 bird literature. In addition to the ornith- 

 ological portion, is a Bibliographical Index, 

 giving a skeleton of the ornithological lit- 

 erature of North America up to the present 

 time. There is much of interest to the sci- 

 entifically inclined, the synonymy of the 

 species, especially, being very complete ; 

 while the fresh morsels in the life-history 

 of the birds, which are so numerously dis- 

 persed throughout th.e work, will remind 

 any bird-naturalist of happy days spent a- 

 mong them. While it is not a work for 

 for the general reader, it is one in which the 

 ornithologist is at home, and by means of 

 which he may and should be incited to 

 greater effoi't. 



Dr. Jasper's woi'k on the Birds of North 

 America is completed, forty numbers hav- 

 ing been issued. The plates are very good, 

 and are pretty accurate, but llie text is main- 

 ly too general to be considered a contribu- 

 tiou to current oruitholoijical literature. 



