280 Recent Literature. Vht 



first seventeen sketches are brief summaries of the habits of the common 

 or ' everjdaj birds ' found throughout the eastern States. Of course, 

 there is very little that is new in these pleasant notes, the}' deriving their 

 chief interest and value from their authorship, being drav/n up in the 

 felicitous language of an author who always writes in a pleasing vein, 

 whatever the subject. 



The character of the other sketches in ' Everj'daj Birds ' is indicated 

 bj their titles, namelj' : 'Birds for Everybody,' 'Winter Pensioners,' 

 'Watching the Procession,' and ' Southward Bound.' Although the plates 

 reproduced are from poor chromo-lithographs, thej are so far worse than 

 the originals that in many cases they bear little resemblance to the birds 

 they are intended to portray (see, for example, the Song Sparrow) ; 

 besides, they border on the hackneyed, having been previously reproduced 

 in various connections in recent years, but the text is so fresh and read- 

 able and is written in such sympathy with the subject that bird lovers 

 will enjoy perusal of Mr. Torrey's sketches, and cannot consider their 

 oinithological libraries complete without including ' Everyday Birds.' — 

 J. A. A. 



Proceedmgs of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club.i — This little 

 brochure records the activity of this well known ornithological club for 

 the ^ear 1900, giving in addition to the minutes of the meetings held 

 three short formal papers, as follows: (i) ' Some Observations on the 

 Habits of Crossbills {Loxia c. minor) observed at Hanover, N. J., May 

 4-6, 1900,' by William B. Evans; (2) 'Recent Capture of the Ivory-billed 

 Woodpecker {Campefhilus friiicipalis) in Florida'; by Charles J. Pen- 

 nock ; (3) ' Bird Language an index of Family Relationship,' by S. N. 

 Rhoads. Mr. Pennock records the capture of three specimens of the 

 Ivory-billed Woodpecker on the Gulf coast of western Florida, near 

 Saint Marks, in April, 1899. 



Mr. Rhoads calls attention to well known facts regarding the similarity 

 of the notes and songs of closely related birds, and urges the importance 

 of their resemblance as an indication of descent and relationship. The 

 minutes of the meetings contain many interesting records of more or less 

 rare birds, observed chiefly in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. — J. A. A. 



Stejneger on the Wheatears {Saxicola) Occurring in North America.'-' 

 — The conclusions reached in this paper have already been stated in sub- 

 stance by Dr. Stejneger in the last issue of 'The Auk' (Vol. XVHI, pp. 



^Abstract of the Proceedings of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club of 

 Philadelphia. For the year 1900. Published by the Club. 1901. pp.15. 



^ On the Wheatears (Saxicola) occurring in North America. By Leonhard 

 Stejneger, Curator, Division of Reptiles and Batrachians. Proc. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., Vol. XXIII, No. 1220, pp. 473-481. March, 1901. 



