108 Recent Literature. [jam 



The history of the Gannet however dates far back of Martin's time, not 

 only is there an admirable story of the Bass Rock Gannets in the ' Historia 

 Majoris Britanniae ' 1521, but mention is made of the birds in an inventory 

 of the resources of Lundy Island in 1274 during the reign of Edward I, and 

 the name Gannet occurs in an Anglo Saxon poem by Beowulf A. D. 597. 



The name Gannet seems to come from the same source as gans, gander 

 and goose; while ' Soland ' or ' Solon Goose ' is from the Icelandic ' sula-n ' 

 i. €., ' the Gannet.' 



Gannets now breed on a limited number of rocky, more or less inacces- 

 sible islets in the northern seas, which they have occupied from time im- 

 memorial. Lundy Island off the English coast is at present abandoned 

 on account of the persecution of the birds. The inhabited islets are Gras- 

 holm, Wales; Bull Rock and The Skelligs, Ireland; Bass Rock, Ailsa 

 Craig, St. Kilda Islands, Sulisgeir and The Stack of Stack and Skerry, 

 Scotland; Mygganaes, Faeroes; Sulusker, Eldey and Grimsey, Iceland; 

 and Bird Rocks and Bonaventure, Canada. The total number of birds 

 now living is estimated by Mr. Gurney as 101,000 (exclusive of course of 

 the allied species of South Africa and Australia) . 



The accounts of the habits of the bird contain a vast amount of informa- 

 tion from the personal observation of the author and from various other 

 sources, while the chapters on osteology and anatomy contain extracts 

 from probably all the published papers touching on the subject. Mr. 

 Gurney is to be congratulated upon the successful completion of a most 

 valuable addition to ornithological literature, while the publishers have 

 contributed their share in producing a beautiful example of book making 

 — admirable typography and half-tones and an attractive binding. — W. S. 



Sage and Bishop on the Birds of Connecticut. ^ — Thirty-six years 

 have passed since the appearance of the last list of Connecticut birds, — ■ 

 that prepared by Dr. C. Hart Merriam in 1877. Both the lapse of time 

 and the enormous strides that have been taken in the study of American 

 ornithology, have made it highly desirable that we should have a more 

 modern work on the birds of the state, which would bring the knowledge of 

 the subject up to date. It would have been difficult to pick two men 

 better qualified for this task than the authors of the work before us and the 

 results of their labors are quite up to our expectations. 



The main part of the work consists of an annotated list of 329 species 

 with an appendix including seven introduced species and ten of doubtful 

 status. The data under each are based upon the collections and notes of 

 the authors and upon information furnished them or recorded by others. 



» The Birds of Connecticut 1 By John Hall Sage, M. S. 1 Secretary of the Ameri- 

 can Ornithologists' Union | and 1 Louis Bennett Bishop, M. D. | Fellow of the 

 American Ornithologists' Union | assisted by | Walter Parks Bliss, M. A. | vignette. | 

 Hartford. | Printed for the State Geological and Natural History Survey, | 1913. 

 [Bulletin No. 20.] 8vo. pp. 1-370. 



