334 Recent Literature. I j"i 



Lot.' Unfortunately the locality at which these notes were made is in 

 some instances given in only a general way, while in others it is wholly 

 omitted. 



The two concluding chapters are written from the 'Bird-Room' and 

 give detailed studies of the Clarin {Alyiadestes u?iicolor, not M. obsctiriis, 

 the latter being known as the Jilguero) and Orchard Oriole in confine- 

 ment. 



It is diificult to overestimate the value of books of this class. They 

 reach an audience to whom the ordinary 'bird-book' is unknown and we 

 feel assured that the present greatly increased desire for information 

 about our birds is largely due to the influence of just such books as Mrs. 

 Miller's. — F. M. C. 



The Sharp-tailed Sparrows of Maine. ' — Mr. Norton records the 

 breeding of Ammodramus caiidaciitiis subvirgatits in 'fair' numbers at 

 Small Point, Sagadahoc County, the first time this race has been 

 discovered nesting in the State. In discussing the relationship of our 

 three forms of Sharp-tailed Finches it is very pertinently suggested that 

 as typical Ammodramus caudacutus is known to breed at Scarboro', only 

 some thirty miles west of Small Point, it is quite probable that subvir. 

 gatiis and its western representative nelsoni are specifically distinct from 

 caudacutus and should therefore stand as Ammodramus tielsoni and 

 Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus. — F. M, C. 



The Story of the Farallones.- — In an attractive little booklet of thirty- 

 two pages Mr. Barlow gives an interesting sketch of the Farallones and 

 their bird-life. Numerous half-tone reproductions of photographs afford 

 an excellent idea of the topography of the islands, the dangers of ' egging,' 

 and the nests and numbers of certain of the sea-birds that have made 

 these barren rocks famous. — F. M. C. 



Bird-Nesting with a Camera.^ — Parts III and IV of this work 

 appeared respectively in April and May, the latter part concluding the 

 first volume of a book which will long hold first place among those 



'The Sharp-tailed Sparrows of Maine with Remarks on their Distribution 

 and Relationship. By Arthur H. Norton. Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. Hist., II, 

 1S97, pp. 97-102. 



■^The Story of the Farallones. Text by C. Barlow. Arranged and Pub- 

 lished by H. R. Taylor, Editor of the Nidologist. Alameda, California, 1S97, 

 oblong 16010, unpaged, numerous half-tone illustrations. Price 50 cents. 



^ Among British Birds in their Nesting Haunts. Illustrated by the Camera. 

 By Oswin A. J. Lee. Parts III and IV, Edinburgh, David Douglas. Folio, 

 Part III, pp. 79-120, pll. X ; Part IV, pp. 121-159* pll. X. 



