226 Recent Literature. \_^^^\ 



The account of the Whitethroat is minutely biographical, but in that of 

 the Lesser Whitethroat discussions are introduced relative to the nature 

 of the excitement manifested by various kinds of birds, which when with 

 young birds are suddenly approached., and of the cause of the local varia- 

 tions in the songs of birds of the same species, of which he details many 

 examples. He inclines to the opinion that climate may have an influence 

 upon the character of song. He says, in concluding this discussion: 

 "Climate could never have been a cause of song, but by some such means 

 [as previously explained] it may have determined the lines along which 

 an^ particular development has taken place." — J. A. A. 



Reed and Wright on the Birds of Cayuga Lake Basin, New York. — 



In a paper of 80 pages, Messrs. Hugh D. Reed and Albert H. Wright, 

 of Cornell University, give an annotated list of 'The Vertebrates of the 

 Cayuga Lake Basin, New York,' with much preliminary matter relating to 

 the topography and meteorology of the region, illustrated with contour 

 and other maps. 



The area of the Cayuga Lake Basin is given as "about 1,600 square 

 miles," its meridional length as about 65 miles, with a breadth varying 

 from about 12 to 36 miles. The " basin is, in the main, typically Transi- 

 tional, although in certain localities there is a trace of the Upper Austral 

 and Canadian." The paper is based mainly on the records of the Zoo- 

 logical Department of Cornell University since its opening in 1868 and the 

 personal observations of the authors, which cover the last twelve years ; and 

 acknowledgments of assistance are made to various members of the 

 university and others. 



The paper consists of an 'Introduction' of twenty pages, followed by 

 the 'Catalogue of Species,' which are numbered consecutively from fishes 

 to mammals, the fishes numbering 65 species, the amphibians 17, the rep- 

 tiles 20, the birds 257, and the mammals 40. Under 'Life Zones,' in the 

 introduction (pp. 376-379), is a brief analysis of the bird fauna with refer- 

 ence to the zones to which the breeding species properly belong, and later 

 (pp. 386-390) the species are tabulated according to their manner of occur- 

 rence, as (1) permanent residents, (2) transient visitants, (3) summer 

 residents, (4) winter residents, (5) of rare occurrence, and (6) accidental 

 visitants. The 'catalogue of the species' occupies pp. 409-453, the anno- 

 tations comprising a quite full statement as to their manner of occurrence, 

 including migration and breeding dates, and the citation in footnotes of the 

 records of capture of the rarer species. The work is evidently based on 

 careful and extensive research and forms a valuable record of present, and 



1 The Vertebrates of the Cayuga Lake Basin, N. Y. By Hugh D. Reed and Albert 

 W. Wright. Proe. American Philosophical Society, Vol. XLVIII, No. 193, 1909 

 (1910), pp. 370-4.59, pll. xvii-xx (maps). From the Department of Neurology and 

 Vertebrate Zoology, Cornell University. (Although the cover date is 1909, the dates 

 of printing on the signatures are Jan. 6-8, 1910.) 



