Literature Relating to Staten Island 19 



ested in the geology of New York State may read and study to ad- 

 vantage, even if parts of it are beyond the ken of the average 

 reader. 



So far as Staten Island is concerned the references are few, 

 brief, and very imperfectly discussed. Even relatively to the rest 

 of the State these references seem disproportionately small. 

 Staten Island is mentioned in connection with the Triassic non- 

 marine sediments, and also in connection with the Cretaceous and 

 Tertiary deposits of the Atlantic coastal plain region, but without 

 any local descriptive 'matter whatsoever. In fact the relations of 

 our island to the rest of the State are so imperfectly expressed that 

 they may be said to be all but entirely omitted ; and any mention 

 of the important and interesting phenomena of glaciation so well 

 exemplified here will be looked for in vain on any of the pages 

 where it might reasonably be expected to occur. 



A. H. 



Studying Old Bird Problems in a New Way^ 



This is another well written and fully illustrated article by 

 Mr. Cleaves on the subject of bird banding. It includes two items 

 of local interest. The first relates to a pair of barn owls which 

 were described some time ago by Mr. WilHam T. Davis. ^° Mr. 

 Cleaves mentions these birds as the only pair known to nest on 

 Staten Island and says : " . . . these birds rear a brood of from 

 four to six each year. What becomes of the young birds is a 

 question. For the past two seasons the baby owls have all been 

 banded. ... In 1912, while the youngsters were having the bands 

 placed on their legs, the old owl came back to the barn loft, think- 

 ing the intruders gone, and before she could make an exit was 

 seized and herself banded. Care was taken to place the ankle ring 

 on the opposite leg from that on which the bands of the owlets 

 were adjusted, the object being to make it possible to identify the 



9 Howard H. Cleaves, Outdoor World and Recreation, N. S., i : 40-43, 

 II f. Ja 1914. 



10 Proc. Staten Is. Assoc. 1 : 84. 1906. 



