go Recent Literature. \^'^ 



Mr. Long was now emboldened, '''■since proof is at hand,'''' to relate his 

 observation, made so many years before, of how he saw a woodcock put 

 its broken leg in splints. 



These are only samples of the deplorable kind of ' natural history ' 

 writing that is now so rapidly coming into vogue, of which Mr. Walton's 

 'A Hermit's Wild Friends' and so much of Mr. Long's writings form 

 striking examples. An active imagination, a slight knowledge of the 

 subject considered, a clever knack at writing, a few pictures, make up the 

 necessar}' capital for any amount of natural history romancing, and from 

 the infliction of which upon ,the public publishers and editors seem to 

 interpose no relief, either through ignorance or the consideration that 

 such yarns meet with ready sale. — J. A. A. 



Fisher's ' Birds of Laysan.' — In a paper of some forty pages, illustrated 

 with ten plates, Mr. Walter K. Fisher has given a very interesting account 

 of his ornithological work in the Laysan and Leeward Islands of the Haw- 

 aiian Group,' which he visited in the summer of 1902, on the expedition 

 of the ' Albatross ' to Hawaiian waters for the purpose of deep-sea explo- 

 rations. Although the cruise lasted from March to August, there seems 

 to have been very little opportunity for on-shore work. The 'Albatross ' 

 reached Laysan on May 16 and remained there till the 23d, during which 

 period Mr. Fisher, with Mr. J. O. Snyder, was detailed " to make observa- 

 tions on the bird life of the island and collect such specimens as seemed 

 desirable." Later brief stops were made at P'rench Frigate Shoals, Necker 

 and Bird Islands, but a landing was made only at Necker. In 'The Auk ' 

 for October, 1903 (pp. 384-397), Mr. Fisher gave an illustrated account of 

 the forms of bird life peculiar to Laysan, and has contributed to the pres- 

 ent number of this journal (pp. 8-20) a paper on the Laj'san Albatross. 



In the present official report some ten pages are devoted to the itinerary 

 of the trip, including a general account, with illustrations, of the islands 

 visited, and the more striking features of their bird life ; this is followed 

 by a systematic list of the 27 species observed, giving detailed accounts of 

 their manner of life on these remote islands. The paper is illustrated 

 with a colored plate of the Necker Island Tern (Procelsterna saxatilis 

 Fisher) discovered on this trip, and 52 half-tones made up into nine plates. 

 It is thus an important contribution to the history of island bird life, and 

 especially to that of Laysan and the other islands visited. — J. A. A. 



Jones's 'The Birds of Ohio.' ^ — The first twenty-two pages of this 



' Birds of Laysan and the Leeward Islands, Hawaiian Group. By Walter 

 K. Fisher. U. S. Fish Commission Bulletin for 1903, pp. 1-39, pll. i-x. 

 Washington : Government Printing Oflice, 1903. 



* The Birds of Ohio. A Revised Catalogue. By Lynds Jones, M. Sc, 

 Oberlin College. Ohio State Academy of Science, Special Papers No. 6. 8vo, 

 pp. 141, with map. Oct. 15, 1903. 



