40 



THE OOLOGIST 



Florida Birds. 



•' The Roseate Spoonbills are just coni- 

 injT iu, and knowing a favorite foedina' 

 grouud on the margin of Salt Lake, I took 

 down my gun and went out to secure a 

 specimen. When within a hundred yards 

 1 tip-toed, and could see over the tall grass 

 through au open space a number of our 

 wading species, — egrets, herons and spoon- 

 bills. I '■ lowered away,' and on all fours 

 made my way within gunshot. What a 

 scene ! Beautiful ; truly charming. On a 

 turf, side to the wind, which was blowing 

 half a gale, stood sentinel a large snowy 

 egret, his magnificent plumage flowing to 

 ■windward and reflected in the water below, 

 "while on all sides the little egrets, with 

 their little plumes curled up on their backs 

 and the top-knot flowing in the wind, skip- 

 ped here and there after minnows and ci-ay 

 fish, while the Pink birds stood around 

 busily going through with their toilet. Two 

 of tliese, and the prettiest of the lot, were 

 near the *• old sentinel,' and now and then, 

 as they spread a wing, the beauty of the 

 scene was at its best. I could not shoot ; I 

 Avanted these three, but as I was either 

 seen or smelled, away they went. Not 

 satisfied with doing well, we often do 

 worse." — C j)\ in Foreit and Stream. 



Recent JHxbli cations. 



The OrnitJiologiscJieH Centralhlatt, edi- 

 ted by Drs. Cabanis and Reichenow, and 

 published at Berlin, is intended as a supple- 

 ment to the Journal fucr Ornitltolocjie^ 

 published by the same authors. It is an 

 eight page quarto journal, semi-monthly, 

 at four marks per half year. 



Dr. Reichenow is also the editor of 

 Deutsche Aclimatisation., a four page quar- 

 to, devoted to the interest of ornitholo- 

 gists. Both this and the preceeding, have 

 adopted the modern style of type, which 

 will please both German and English read- 

 ers. 



One of the last of the late lamented Dr. 

 Brewer's works is Ins supplementary list 

 of the birds of New England. This pa- 

 I j)er evinces all the care and research so 

 ' well known in the Doctor, while he de- 

 scribes with pride five species new to his 

 i former catalogue. The present list enum- 

 ! crates thirty-five species, most of them 

 i possessing special interest for the local, as 

 ' well as general ornithologist. It is need- 

 ! less for us to say New England is exceed- 

 ingly well represented by careful observers, 

 • whose aim is to constantly elevate the 

 I standard of their favorite study, and the 

 I result is that the birds of that poi'tion of 

 ; the country are better known than those of 

 i any other limited district. 



Tlie Naiarahst, a monthly, four page, 

 i duodecimo paper, is published at Hudson, 

 j Mich., by . John II. Boies. 



T. G. Gentry is the author of a new 

 work on the Nests and Eggs of Birds of 

 ' tJie 3Iiddle States. The prospectus au- 

 1 uounces tluit the work is to be issued in 

 I "• monthly parts," quarto size, atone dol- 

 lar each. There are to be two colored 

 ] plates in each part. 



i Among recent publications Ave have re- 

 j ceived the Science Advocate, by Henry 

 A. Green. It is devoted to general natu- 

 ral history. 



Judging from the character of the sec- 

 ond installment of Dr. Cones' Bibliography, 

 we predict a most exhaustive and valuable 

 work when complete ; one which will ex- 

 cite the admiration of ornithologists at 

 home and abroad. We await the coming 

 second volume of the Birds of the Colorado 

 Valley with interest. 



Diary of a Bird, by H. D. Minot, is a 

 small pamphlet published by A. Williams 

 & Co., Boston. It is not noteworthy as 

 an ornithological production, but gives 

 some startling information in regard to the 

 destruction of onr game birds. 



