1920 J Recent Literature. 157 



of prey of the State of Iowa. His manuscripts have been edited and com- 

 pleted by his student and co-worker, Miss Clementina S . Spencer and have 

 now been published by the Iowa Geological Survey in an attractive volume 

 which is a credit to all concerned. 



The economic statements are taken largely from Fisher's ' Hawks and 

 Owls of the United States,' but under each of the commoner species there 

 is a table of stomach contents of a dozen or so specimens examined by the 

 author. The consideration of the characters and distribution of the spe- 

 cies occupies the bulk of the volume and as a rule seems to be very full 

 and accurate. There is a brief summary of field characters and a fuller 

 description of each species with measutments. Then follows a statement 

 of its general range and a detailed account of its distribution and habits in 

 Iowa, with a map showing county records and breeding localities, and a full 

 bibliography. The illustrations consist of excellent half-tones of mounted 

 birds in the museum of Coe College, some characteristic views of Iowa 

 scenery and a portrait of Dr. Bailey. 



There is a lack of consistency in the treatment of some portions of the 

 work, some of the distributions being taken direct from the A. O. U. ' Check- 

 List ' while others unfortunately are too general, and consequently some- 

 what inaccurate or misleading. The northern race of the Turkey Vulture 

 is thus credited with ranging to South America and the Swallow-tailed 

 Kite is stated to breed from the northern United States southward. In the 

 bibliography the authority for the scientific name is quoted in one reference 

 and not in the next without any uniformity, while Dr. Bailey's proposed 

 new race of the Broad-winged Hawk, which has been since regarded as 

 merely a melanistic form, is given as a " new subspecies " in this publica- 

 tion whereas it was described and named in ' The Auk ' for January, 1917. 



These are, however, minor matters and do not detract from the useful- 

 ness of the publication in providing a means for the recognition and proper 

 appreciation of the birds of prey, which is a necessity on the part of farmers 

 and others, before any progress can be made in the destruction of the 

 noxious species and the protection of those which are beneficial. — W. S. 



Mrs. Farweli's ' Bird Observations near Chicago.' ' — The late Mrs. 

 Ellen Drummond Farwell, a director and vice-president of the Illinois Audu- 

 bon Society, was an ardent bird lover and a student of wild bird life. Her 

 note books kept in diary form were replete with observations relating 

 mainly to birds of the Chicago district, although there were two short lists 

 of species observed in Georgia as well as notes on birds seen in Europe. 



All of these have now been published in book form, with a foreword by 

 John V. Farwell and an introduction by Mary Drummond. They show a 

 keen power of observation and contain many facts of interest not only to 



1 Bird Observations near Chicago. By Ellen Drummond Farwell. Introduction by 

 Mary Drummond. With illustrations. Privately printed. [1919] pp. 1-192. 



