IGO 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 7-No. 20 



season persons follow the avocation of 

 egg gatherers. The eggs are very difficult 

 to find, hut the regular gatherers will 

 walk almost at once to the nest. Eggs of 

 the Black-headed and other small Gulls 

 are often sold in large numbers as Plover's 

 eggs, but are not so delicate or so fine fla- 

 vored. The early eggs are obtained from 

 Holland, and are sold in London at high 

 prices. The young birds try to elude 

 capture by lying flat on the ground, and 

 are almost as difficixlt to find as the eggs. 

 The food of the Lapwing consists of 

 worms, insects, lai-vae, slugs, etc. The 

 Lapwing has inci-eased in numbers diu'ing 

 the past few years in consequence of the 

 destniction of the l>irds of prey. — ./. 7'. 

 7'. H., Hi/hope, Durham Counti/. Eit(j. 



Common Europe.^vn Heron {Ardea cine- 

 rea, Linn.) — Since the days of Falconry 

 great changes have taken place, and the 

 Heron, once protected by the most severe 

 laws, is now persecuted by the preserver 

 of fish. The Heron used to afford great 

 sport to the falconer in the middle ages, 

 as it was usually taken by a cast of female 

 Peregrines, but it was no unusual occur- 

 rence for the Falcon to be killed by the 

 formidable beak of the Heron. The Heron 

 is still met with in many parts of Eng- 

 land, but most of its breeding places are 

 protected by land-owners, who have a 

 liking for the bird, ami liut for the partial 

 jiroteetion alforded to it. the Heron would 

 long ago have beeu imjjroved oiit of the 

 British Isles. The Heron breeds in colo- 

 nies, making its nest on the tops of trees, 

 though sometimes a steep rock may be 

 chosen as a nesting place. The nest is 

 large, being about a yard across, and is 

 composed of sticks and lined with soft 

 grass. The eggs are four or five in num- 

 ber and are of a Tin i form pale green 

 color. The food of the Heron consists of 

 fish, frogs, water beetles, shrimps, small 

 crabs, and the ova of fish. — ./. 7'. 7'. 

 Reed. Jiyhope. En(llfiiid. 



The Coues' Check List. 



One of the most important contribu- 

 tions to ornithological literatm'e recently 

 made is the " Revised Check List of 

 North American Birds" by Dr. Coues. 

 Although called a second edition of the 

 list of 1873, it is practically a new work. 

 The old list contained only seven hun- 

 dred and fifty species and sub species, and 

 twenty-eight in the ajjpendix, while the 

 present list, which includes Greenland 

 birds, enumerates eight hundred and 

 eighty-eight species, each variety having 

 its own number. This is a different plan 

 from that adopted in the 1873 list, as 

 only full sijecies are there numbered, the 

 sub-species being given as a, b. and c. 



As showing the accuracy of the author's 

 original list, it may be stated that only 

 ten names have had to be removed, while 

 one hundred and twenty have been added, 

 thiis showing the great jirogress made in 

 North American Ornithology during the 

 past nine years. 



The Ornithological Dictionary in con- 

 nection with the list consists of a treatise 

 on the etymology, orthography, and or- 

 thoepy of all the scientific and many of 

 vernacular words employed in the nomen- 

 clature of North American birds. This 

 will be invaluable to students, as many, 

 however familiar they may be with the 

 names of their feathered friends on paper, 

 have little idea of the derivation, signifi- 

 cation and application of the words. 



The book is neatly printed, nicely in- 

 dexed (as are all of the Dr.'s works), and 

 tastefully bound, and will add another 

 laurel to the gifted author who has done 

 so much for American ornithology during 

 the past twenty years. 



Snowy Owls. — Capt. William E. Kmgs- 

 bury of the Eleventh Infantry, stationed 

 at Camp Poplar River, Montana Territory, 

 has two Snowy Owls that are tamed suffi- 

 ciently to answer to the call of a 

 whistle. 



