220 Recent Literature. f ^""^ 



LApr. 



February number includes ' A Trip to Mono Lake, Ornithological and 

 Otherwise,' bv Walter K. F^isher (with half-tone illustrations) ; 'A Study 

 of Bird Songs,' hy John J. Williams; ' The Pinyon Jay,' by II. C. Johnson ; 

 'The Crissal Thrasher in California,' by M. F. Gilman ; ' The Louisiana 

 Tanager,' by J. H. Bowies; ' The Wingless Cormorant of the Galapagos,' 

 by Rollo H. Beck ; and numerous shorter articles, including local records 

 of interest, editorials, reviews, and the official minutes of the Club. 



This number appears with a new cover design, by Walter K. Fisher, 

 "typifying the land of the setting sun and its lordly condor." The adop- 

 tion of three editorial rules is announced, as follows : (i) The omission 

 of "the possessive 5" in common names of animals and plants, unless a 

 contributor expressly requests its retention. It looks a little odd to see 

 'Clarke Crow,' instead of the familiar 'Clarke's CroAv,' and so on with 

 similar names, but " as the name was given in the sense of a dedication, 

 no particular ownership being intended or implied," the innovation has 

 much in its favor, and this form will doubtless seem natural and proper 

 as soon as its novelty wears off. But we can hardly give consent to 

 ' pinyon ' and ' canyon,' etc., although this form has recently acquired a 

 wide vogue, even among writers from whom we should expect better 

 things. (2) The use of the single «, in the genitive singular of specific 

 and subspecific names — a very convenient rule, and in most cases a more 

 correct form than «V, which is often absolutely incorrect; but the change is 

 contrary to the A. O. U. Canon XL, which requires : "The original orthog- 

 raphy of a name is to be rigidly preserved, unless a typographical error 

 is evident." This rule is intended to prohibit the emendation of names, 

 particularly generic names, as the context clearly implies, since the ending 

 of specific and subspecific names is necessarily subject to modification to 

 make them agree in gender with the name of the genus. It is perhaps to 

 be regretted that the A. O. U. Committee did not provide for a uniform 

 ending of the genitive singular, so that we might avoid such abomina- 

 tions as cooperii^ gairdnerii., etc., and audubotii, backtnani, etc., with 

 either one «' or two /V, as the original describer happened to write; and 

 whether he used one / or two no one can ever certainly remember and 

 must verify by looking up the case. (3) The printing of the initial letter 

 of common names in lower case, unless personal or geographic. This 

 may do in newspapers and magazines, and in general literature, but for 

 strictly ornithological works or journals it strikes us as in bad taste, in 

 all instances where a particular species is formally mentioned. 



The March-April number contains ' The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,' by 

 Florence Merriam Bailey; 'Some Experiences of 1901,' by P. M. Sillo- 

 way ; ' Hummingbird Experiences from my Note Book,' by MoUie Bryan ; 

 ' Winter Observations on the Colorado Desert,' by F. S. Daggett ; ' A 

 tew Notes on the Nesting of Trochilus alexandri,'' by R. S. Wueste ; also 

 many ' records ' and shorter communications, including letters and the 

 official minutes of the Club; and in addition to these several technical 

 papers. The latter include 'Status of Cyanocitta stelleri carbonacea 



