vol. xxxvi j Receni Uieraiure 297 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



' The Game Birds of California.' — One of the most notable of recent 

 American bird books is the handsome work on ' The Game Birds of Cali- 

 fornia ' l by Grinnell, Bryant and Storer issued by the University of 

 California, as one of its Semicentennial publications. The life histories 

 of game birds have never been so well studied and written up as those of 

 certain other species, because those who have had the best opportunities 

 have been more interested in killing the birds than in studying them. We 

 may search the columns of the sporting journals and while we find an 

 abundance of information on how to shoot game birds, how they act in 

 reference to the gunner, and what fine times the gunner had when shoot- 

 ing them, there is a lamentable lack of careful observation on the life and 

 habits of the birds. State Game Commissions are usually made up of 

 hunters rather than of trained ornithologists and consequently their activ- 

 ities are directed along the same lines and their publications are mainly of 

 the same nature though there are notable exceptions. The supervision of 

 the enforcement of the Migratory Bird Law and the succeeding Treaty with 

 Canada, by a committee of the Biological Survey at Washington, has 

 opened the eyes of the public to the importance of entrusting this sort of 

 work to trained experts and the present volume is an example of a state 

 game publication prepared by just such experts. We have had some 

 similar publications by state or local authorities, notably Mr. E. H. For- 

 bush's admirable ' History of the Game Birds, Wild Fowl and Shore Birds 

 of Massachusetts and Adjacent States,' issued by the Massachusetts State 

 Board of Agriculture, but they are few, and some State Boards unfortu- 

 nately adopt an attitude of hostility to the Biological Survey and to 

 scientific research, which is unfortunate and deplorable. 



The attitude of the University of California, through its Museum of 

 Vertebrate Zoology, in turning to practical advantage the information 

 accumulated through the researches of its trained experts is most com- 

 mendable. We go to the universities for expert information on all sorts 

 of subjects and why not go to their zoological departments or to the great 

 museums for information on wild life and its preservation? 



Dr. Grinnell and his associates have had the advantage of Mr. Forbush 

 inasmuch as they have been engaged in the personal study of game 

 birds along with their other field work for many years, and consequently 

 have accumulated a vast store of original information, while he was forced 

 to compile a large part of his data in a very short period of time. Their 



1 The Game Birds of California. Contributions from the University of California 

 Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. By Joseph Grinnell, Harold Child Bryant and Tracy 

 Irwin Storer. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1918. Large 8vo„ pp. i-x + 

 1-642, 16 colored plates and 94 text figures. Price cloth $6.00 net. 



