§2 Recent Literature. \_\ln 



Clipperton Island lies in latitude lo^'' 17' north and xoff 13' west, ana 

 about '600 miles distant from the mainland, the nearest point of which is 

 the west coast of Mexico, near Acapulco. It is littie more than a coral 

 reef, practically without vegetation, and its land fauna consists of a few 

 species of sea birds, which resort to it in immense numbers for a breeding 

 station, a single species of lizard, a dragonfly, a beetle, and a few diptera. 

 Cocos Island, situated about five degrees further south and some twenty- 

 two degrees further east, otf the west coast of Costa Rica, and about 250 

 miles from the mainland, is mountainous and covered with trees and a 

 dense undergrowth. The plant species are few, however, and the land 

 fauna consists of a few indigenous birds, a lizard, and a few species of 

 insects. Though visited by several kinds of water birds, it is not, like 

 Clipperton Island, a great breeding resort for sea fowl. Both islands are 

 described in much detail, and most of the birds obtained at each are 

 described at length. The birds recorded from both islands number only 

 15 species, of which only five — all boobies and terns — are recorded from 

 Clipperton Island and 10 from Cocos Island, while two are common to 

 both localities. Two of the species, a tern and a booby, were first described 

 by the authors of the present paper from specimens taken by them at these 

 islands. Of the four indigenous land birds found at Cocos, three are 

 peculiar to the island, two of them having been first made known by Mr. 

 A. W. Anthony in 1895. — J. A. A. 



Knight's 'The Birds of Wyoming.' 1 — This is a fully annotated and 

 well illustrated list, based in part on "published reports pertaining to the 

 birds of the State," partly on unpublished observations of ornithologists 

 or collectors of Wyoming birds, and partly on collections made especially 

 for the museum of the University of Wyoming by Mr. Chas. W. Gillmore, 

 now of the Carnegie Museum. Mr. Knight, being a geologist, makes no 

 claim to being an ornithologist, and appears to have prepared the work in 

 response to constant inquiries "for some literature on the birds of the 

 State," which, as curator of the museum, he felt called upon to furnish. 

 He is entitled to congratulations on having prepared what seems to be 

 an excellent list of the birds of Wyoming, which, with the other per- 

 tinent matter included, forms a ' Bulletin ' that must be of great assistance 

 to students of Wyoming birds. The introductory matter includes a resume 

 of the literature pertaining to the subject, ' A Note on Studying Birds,' 

 and a reprint of Prof. Laurence Bruner's '• Birds in their Relation to 

 Agriculture,' this preliminary matter occupying pp. 1-23, while a supple- 



1 The Birds of Wyoming. By Wilbur C. Knight. Bulletin No. 55. Wyo- 

 mhig Experiment Station, University of Wyoming, Agricultural College De- 

 partment, Laramie, Wyoming. September, 1902. 8vo, pp. 174, with 48 full- 

 page half-tone plates and numerous text illustrations. Sent free upon request, 

 by the Director of the Experiment Station. 



