1913 ' I />' cent Literatim . .)!).> 



cal work. For instance the Olive-sided Flycatcher, Crossbill, Pine Siskin, 

 Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, etc. are given as breeding birds 

 without any actual records or references to records, while so far as we can 

 judge their nests have not been taken in the state by the author. It is 

 the actual records thai the scientific ornithologist requires or at least an 

 indication of where they may be round and an adequate state list should 

 furnish this information. In the case of the Brown Creeper, moreover, 

 one might suppose that it bred throughout the state as there is no mention 

 whatever of its local summer distribution. The author -eons not, to have 

 a clear conception of the nature of subspecies as he states that, the breeding 

 ranges of the two Parulas, the two Maryland Yellow-throats, etc., overlap 

 in Virginia. If such is the tact, from the very nature of the case, they 

 would cease to be subspecies and must be regarded as species. The remarks 

 about winter JuncOS must we think apply largely if not entirely to ,/. 

 hyemalis hyemalis not to J. h. carolinensis which is the breeding form of the 

 mountains. 



( )ne point in which Mr. Bailey's work is especially open to criticism from 

 the ' advanced ornithologist ' is the lack of any sort of bibliography and 

 tic- very meagre reference to the work of others. Prof. Smyth's recent 

 paper in ' The Auk ' is freely quoted and I here is an occasional reference to 

 Dr. Rives' ' Birds of the Virginias,' but many other important records and 

 papers could have been quoted to advantage. We trust, that these maybe 

 supplied in another edition, as well as t hi' editorial revision already sug- 

 gested, which will bring the text up to the high standard attained in the 

 illustrations and general make-up of the volume.— W. S. 



Faxon on Brewster's Warbler. 1 — In January, 1911, Dr. Faxon pub- 

 lished an interesting account of observations on some families of warblers 

 in a swamp at Lexington, Mass. A pair of Golden-wingS reared only 

 Golden-wings, a male ( lolden-wing and female Brewster's Warbler pro- 

 duced only Brewster's Warblers while another similarly mated pair pro- 

 duced Brewster's Warblers and at least one Golden-wing. 



Observations <>n the colony were continued in subsequent seasons by the 

 author and Dr. W. M. Tyler but with no satisfactory results until 1913, 

 when a male Golden-wing was found mated with a female Blue-wing, 

 the combination that was particularly to be desired. The development of 

 the young was followed with great care and all of them eventually assumed 

 1 hi' pure plumage of Brewster's Warbler, thus proving positively the nature 



of this so called species. As I >r. Faxon points out this is in exact accordance 



with Mendel's law, chrysoptera (pure) x pinus (pure) should produce only 



l.-ndelian so called dominant hybrid; chrysoptera (pure) 



Irewster's Warbler (Helmintkophila leu< hybrid between the 



Golden-winged Warbl hophila chrysoptera) and the Blue-winged Warbler 



'//•/••■ By Walter Faxon. Memoirs Mus. Comp. Zool. 



Vol. XL Mo 6, i»i». -11 316. August, 1913. 



