Publications Reviewed 



PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED 



LIFE HISTORIES OF N. A. GULLS AND TERNS 



BY A. C. BEXT 



The same painstaking care exercised in the preparation of the 

 volume on the Alcidae by the same author is evident in this volume 

 too. If one has Ridgway's Birds of North and Middle America 

 for the purely technical matter and Benfs Life Histories in his 

 library he has indeed all that is necessary to gain a complete knowl- 

 edge of N. A. birds. 



"We are glad that the author is courageous and independent 

 enough to voice his own personal opinions, whenever they differ 

 from those of the A. 0. U. Committee, based of course on weighty 

 evidence and accurate comparison. Such cases for instance are his 

 treatment of Larus vegae, which certainly is not a good species, 

 perhaps not even a sub-species, of Larus nelsoni and Larus bar- 

 rovlanus. We have stated elsewhere years ago that the question 

 is not always whether some of these alleged differences exist but 

 whether they are worthy of recognition in 7iomenclature. Mr. 

 Bent's views on the status of Larus brachyrhynchus have proven 

 true, as the species has subsequently been shown to be only 

 subspecifically distinct from Larus canus. His remarks on Cathar- 

 acta chilensis and Larus fuscus ofTiuis are likewise sound. 



The photos are fine — the only disappointing one being that of 

 the nest of the Ivory Gull, but perhaps it was the only one to be 

 had. The colored plates are excellent. Altogether Mr. Bent's 

 work is a mine of information and "a joy forever." He richly 

 deserves the gratitude of all working ornithologists and more liberal 

 treatment at the hands of the government in the way of paper 

 stock and cover. W. F. H. 



BIRD BANDING BY MEANS OF SYSTEMATIC TRAPPING* 



BY S. PRENTISS BALDWIN 



Until Mr. Baldwin made his first report of progress at one of 

 the A. O. U meetings upon the work that he was doing in trapping 

 and banding, some of us were becoming skeptical about whether the 

 small returns from bird banding as it had been practiced up to that 

 time was worth the cost in time and money. But here was a 

 method which brought results. It opened a field for research 

 which promised large returns, even if pursued independently, 

 but pursued in cooperation with others promised results of ines- 

 timable value in the study not only of migration but also of fea- 

 tures of the life history of the birds. Mr. Baldwin's banding 

 operations occupied the summer and autumn months at Gates 

 Mill, Ohio, and the late winter months at Thomasville, Georgia, 

 for the years 1914 to 1918; but he is continuing this work at 

 both places since this report was published. The writer has had 



