134 Recent Literature. [j" n . 



there are two special paper?. The first, by John Treadwell Nichols, is 

 entitled, ' Bird Notes from Florida ' and comprises notes on twenty-six 

 species observed while cruising between Miami and Sanibel Light, from 

 March 28 to April 21, 1917. Besides Mr. Nichols' records of birds seen, 

 there is a discussion of the spring migration including a record kept by 

 Dr. and Mrs. G. Clyde Fisher at De Funiack Springs, northwest Florida, 

 in the spring of 1909, and some observations on the habits of the Brown 

 Pelican by Dr. Russell Coles. 



The second paper is by Mr. Jay A. Weber on ' Bird Temperatures,' 

 which includes records for one to three individuals, of sixty-five species of 

 eastern North American birds. For Passerine species, which make up the 

 bulk of the records, the temperatures ranges from 106.4 to 111.2. Mr. 

 Weber declines to attempt to draw any deductions from his records, as he 

 does not regard them as sufficiently complete. He also raises a possible 

 question of accuracy in such records, since the live bird is in such a state of 

 excitement at the time of taking the record that the temperature may, for 

 that reason, be above the normal, while in the case of a recently killed bird 

 the shock may have the same effect. The list is a valuable contribution to 

 a somewhat neglected subject. — W. S. 



Annual Report of the National Association of Audubon Societies. 



■ — In these war years when many institutions and societies have been 

 hard pressed to keep from a temporary cessation of their activities the 

 National Association of Audubon Societies has been able to continue with- 

 out any reduction in the scope or extent of its activities, which is greatly to 

 the credit of the officers in charge of its work. Realizing at the outset 

 the important part that bird protection could play, as a guard against 

 crop destruction by noxious insects, the Society made its appeal to the 

 public on these lines and met with immediate response. In the days of 

 food conservation the practical value of the Society's work has appealed 

 to the people as never before. 



The need of constant watching of the actions of the State Legislatures 

 in relation to bird protection has been specially illustrated during the past 

 year. The Gulls breeding on the Maine coast islands were assailed as 

 being detrimental to sheep grazing, and the Brown Pelican in the Gulf 

 States was branded as a destroyer of fishes needed for food, while efforts 

 were made to wrest from the Government title to the Klamath and 

 Malheur Bird Reservations in order to convert them into ranching country. 

 The Society has been instrumental in demonstrating that the Gulls were 

 beneficial to the sheep grazers, and that the Pelicans fed almost entirely 

 on species not used for food, and one of the agents is now working to secure 

 legislation in Oregon to ensure the permanent preservation of the bird 

 reservations. In spite of all the published scientific data, laws are con- 



i ' Bird-Lore' November-December, 1918, pp. 453-560. 



