Vol. X"l Recent Literature. 347 



1S93 J 



them all as distinct species, contrary to the recently expressed opinion of 

 Mr. Dresser (Ibis, 1892, pp. 374-38°)-— J. A. A. 



Food Habits of Birds.-The Annual Report of the Chief of the Divi- 

 sion of Ornithology and Mammalogy of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture for the year ,892' contains, besides Dr. Mernam'i account of the 

 work of the Division for the year, a paper by Mr. Walter B Barrows on 

 ■Economic Ornithology' (pp. '93-*°°), which includes, besides a general 

 statement of the progress of the work, a report on the 'Food or the :H ined 

 Larks (OtocorisY by Mr. Barrows, and a report on the 'Food Hab.ts of the 

 Cedarbird T^nfell cedrorumy by Mr. F. E. L. Beal. Mr. Barrows con- 

 cludes that Horned Larks are essentially granivorous, but subsist more or 

 less on insects at all times, and that the nestlings are mainly fed with 

 insects. There is of course no evidence of discrimination on the part of 

 the birds between injurious and beneficial insects, but the whole amount 

 of insect food-<< 9 * per cent, for the whole year"-is too small to be of 

 economic importance. While they occasionally pickup some newly sown 

 .rain or grass seed, the loss on this account must be trifling their food 

 consisting mainly of the seeds of useless or noxious weeds, and they are 

 thus clearly entitled to protection. 



Mr BeaPs conclusions in respect to the Cedarbird are that 17 per cent, 

 of its food consists of insects and that the largest proportion of insect : food 

 is taken during the season when fruit is most abundant, and that the 

 voung while in the nest are fed to a very great extent upon insect food. 

 Among the insects eaten were several noxious species, as the elm leat 

 beetle and various caterpillars.— J. A. A. 



Hasbrouck on 'Evolution and Dichromatism in the Genus Megascops. ' 

 _In a recent paper* in the 'American Naturalist' Mr Hasbrouck has 

 attempted a solution of the problem of dichromatism in the Screech Owls 

 of eastern North America. The paper is evidently the result of much 

 patient labor and presents some new information respecting the distribu- 

 tion of the red and gray phases of this well-known bird, his facts being pre- 

 sented both in tabular form and graphically by means of maps. While the 

 paper, on casual inspection, might be regarded as an interesting and in 

 some ways a valuable contribution to the subject under consideration, 

 a closer examination shows it to be nearly worthless, even as regards the 

 data on which it is ostensibly based. Hence of course we can hardly share 

 the author's confidence that we are here presented with a satisfactory solu- 

 tion of the problem of dichromatism as presented in our Megascofs asto. 



1 Report of the Ornithologist and Mammalogist for 1892. By C. Hart Merriam. 

 Rep. Sec'y of Agriculture for 1892 (1893), pp. 181-200. 



* Evolution and Dichromatism in the Genus Megascops. By E. M. Hasbrouck. 

 Am. Nat., 1893, pp. 5^-533, 638-649, with 5 maps. 



