16 



THE OSPREY. 



Literature. 



Thk Ibis is such a valuable i-ei)ertory of in- 

 formation, orii;-inal and biblioj^raphical, respect- 

 ini;- birds of all parts of the world that a <;eneral 

 index would be peculiarly valuable as a tiuie- 

 saver. The information that the British Orni- 

 tholoi;-ists" Union will soon publish one will be 

 received with much pleasure. The manuscript 

 has been completed, and the volume, it was ex- 

 pected, "would be readv bv the autumn". It will 

 cover the first 3b volumes,'from 18.SM to 18^14. "It 

 was proposed to print only 300 copies of the 

 Index" at the price of £1 Is. each. 



Thk Bikds ()1>' Indiana. The Birds of In- 

 diana. A descriptive catalogue of the bii'ds 

 that have been observed within the state with 

 an account of their habits. By Amos Butler. 

 (Indiana Dept. of Geol. and Nat. Res., 22d 

 , Ann Kept. 18^7 [1898], pp. .^1.^-1187). 



We are pleased to note that another of these 

 useful summaries of Ornithological data, has 

 been g-iven to the public, and hope that it will 

 serve as a stimulus to other states to rouse their 

 slumbering- bird-men to similar efforts. The 

 completion of the present work is a result of the 

 authors long- experience, familiarity with the 

 fields and untiring- zeal in the tedious task of 

 collecting-, sifting", and boiling- down of notes 

 gathered from every available source. 



The first 31 pag-es are devoted to an introduc- 

 tion covering- such topics as "the Indiana Bird 

 Laws," "Position and Boundary," Elevation, 

 Phvsiographic regions, Drainag^e, Physiogra- 

 phic features. Peculiarities affecting" bird distri- 

 bution. Changes in bird-life. Destruction of birds, 

 Zoolog-ical areas, and Bird migration, followed 

 by a "Bibliog-raphy of Indiana Ornithology". 

 The literature, it appears, extends from 1808 to 

 the date of writing-. Then comes the list proper, 

 which includes 321 species and subspecies, 164 of 

 which are indicated, by the prefix of an asterisk, 

 to have been found breeding- within the bounds 

 of the state. 



Convenient keys to orders, and families are 

 found in the beginning- of the list, and keys to the 

 lesser groups are scattered throughout the work 

 in their proper places. The 117 familiar illustra- 

 tions will greatly aid the layman in the deter- 

 mination of his species, and add to the attrac- 

 tiveness of the book. The descriptions are terse 

 but to the point, and the notes are interesting- 

 and valuable. A hypothetical list of 81 species 

 includes such forms as may be looked for in the 

 state or have been reported from neighboring- 

 states, and concludes the work— except as to the 

 the good index. — P. B. 



Thb; Birds of Eastern North Amb;rica 

 Known to Occur East of thk Ninetieth 

 Meridian. — Water Birds. Part I. Key to the 

 families and species. By Charles B. Cory [etc]. 

 — Special edition printed for the Field Colum- 

 bian Museum, Chicago, 111., 1899. fSm. 4to, ix, 

 142, pp]. 



As told in the title (which we g-ive in full ex- 

 cept the titles of Mr. Cory) thi.i volume is mostly 

 confined to the exposition of the difl'erential 

 characters of the Water Birds of the region in- 



dicated. It is however prefaced by a glossary 

 and illustrations of the exterior regions and 

 l)arts of a bird, and preceded by an introduction 

 or systematic illustrated summary giving modi- 

 fications of "the wings", "the tail", "the leg and 

 foot", and "the bill". The key is not in a di- 

 chot<mious form, but g-ives the characters by 

 "groups" which may be either divisions of 

 families, subfamilies or genera, but tho.se g-roups, 

 as a rule, are well contrasted with those f)f analo- 

 gous categories. The illustrations are numer- 

 ous, and many of them are excellent. An index 

 completes the volume. 



Descriptions of Ntcw Birds from North- 

 Eastb;rn Mexico have been published by Mr. 

 E. W. Nelson in the Proceedings of the Biolo- 

 gical Society of Washington, (Vol. xiii, pp. 25, — 

 31, May 29, 1899). Foui-"new species, and eight 

 subspecies are named. The new species belong 

 to the genera . htfrosfoiiius, Heli'ocfyfcs and 

 Catltartis. 



Victims of Vanity is the title of a temperate 

 article in the August number of the Eng-lish 

 Illustrated Magazine, by C. W. Gedney, directed 

 against the plume-gatherers and wearers. It is 

 illustrated by a colored plate and 5 process illus- 

 trations in the text. The colored plate repre- 

 sents 6 species — 3 Humming- Birds, 2 Birds of 

 Paradise, and the Red Tanager, "drawn ap- 

 proximateU' to the same scale " The tone may 

 be judged from the following-: 



"Writers and speakers who argue against the 

 cruelty and waste of rare bird-life which such 

 fashion entails, are usually accused of doing- in- 

 jur^' to the cause thej' advocate by excessive zeal. 

 I hope to escape such adverse criticism by appeal- 

 ing to facts and figures rather than to sentiment, 

 and I have been careful rather to under than 

 over-state the case". 



A tribute is paid to the efforts in this country 

 to influence those concerned. 



"Amongst many other attempts made to edu- 

 cate public opinion against the killing- of birds 

 for their plumage, the American 'notion' of a 

 'bird-day' appears likely to bear g-ood results 

 in the future. If you want to convert woman, 

 you must catch her young-; and our cousiii.s 

 across the water have decided to start on the 

 school children. The study of ornithology and 

 the protection of birds has been added to the 

 curriculum of nearly all the schools in the States. 

 The natural savager\' of the boy, however, is a 

 factor to be taken into account in this connec- 

 tion. He may not have the slightest idea that 

 he is guilty of wanton destruction; but it comes 

 naturalh' to him to rob nests alike of their eggs 

 and callow" young-, reg-ardless of their rarity. 

 But we must hope for some changes of fashion, 

 some developments of public opinion, and the 

 passing- of legal enactments, if those who are to 

 succeed us are to see living specimens of brilliant- 

 plumaged birds. At the present rate of destruc- 

 tion, the end is not far oft"; and future genera- 

 tions will assuredly anathematise us for impov- 

 erishing the earth of its most beautiful birds". 



