110 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 9 



THE 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



— AND — 



OOLOGIST. 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



ESPECIALLY DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF 



BIRDS, 



THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



DESIGNED AS A MEANS FOB THE INTERCHANGE OF NOTES 

 AND OBSERVATIONS ON BIRD LIFE. 



FRANK B. WEBSTER, Publisher, 



PAWTTJCKET, E. I. 



Editor's Notes. 



At the time of writing (August 23d,) 

 the second volume of the Transactions of 

 the Linnsean Society of New York — an- 

 nounced for publication on the 15th — has 

 not reached us. 



An interesting monograph on the Spar- 

 row Hawk by Dr. W. Van Fleet appears 

 in the Continent Magazine for July 2d. 

 We are pleased to welcome Dr. Van Fleet 

 among our subscribers and contributors. 



We give this month the concluding por- 

 tion of the Key. W. E. Hill's journal, 

 "Birds of the Panhandle, W. Va." His 

 notes contain a mass of facts regarding 

 the birds of his locality, all of which bear 

 the impress of close personal observation. 

 We are much indebted to Mr. Hill for 

 the labor he has exjjended upon their pre- 

 paration for the press. 



We announce thus early our programme 

 for the coming year. We propose to give 

 16 pp. each month, exclusive of advertise- 

 ment sheets. While preserving the pres- 

 ent size and general appearance, we will, 

 by using other type, obtain space for one- 

 half more matter on each page. Thus we 



will give what will be equal to 24 of our 

 present pages monthly — -exactly double 

 what we have been giving. Our subscrip- 

 tion will not be doubled, but we proj>ose 

 increasing it to a dollar and a half. We 

 hope by this means to establish our Maga- 

 zine on a permanent basis, which with the 

 support of our contributors and subscri- 

 bers it may long maintain. 



Our Birds in Their Haunts. 



This is the well chosen title of a book* 

 which deserves notice and a place in the 

 library of all interested in Bird Life. Its 

 special aim is described in its title. Mr. 

 Langille does not take for his description 

 a dead specimen on the dissecting table, 

 but the Bird as it appears in the freedom 

 of its native fields and woods ; hence we 

 do not have a scientific description show- 

 ing why the names are given and what 

 points in the Bird's appearance or charac- 

 ter justified them. We are introduced to 

 him as he appears to those who seek his 

 acquaintance to know his habits and life — 

 not to obtain specimens of more or less 

 rarity for their collections. 



In saying this we do not mean that the 

 book is destitute of scientific descriptions, 

 but that these are subsidiary to the main 

 object, which is " To popularize the sci 

 ence of Ornithology for Eastern North 

 America." 



The book contains descriptions of all 

 the Birds commonly found east of the 

 Mississippi. These are referred to appar- 

 ently as occasion offered ; not classified in 

 any way that we can perceive. An index, 

 however, prevents this being objectiona- 

 ble. The author's style is readable, and 

 his book needs no special training in the 

 science of Ornithology to make it thor- 

 oughly interesting. 



* " Our Birds in Their Haunts :" A popular treatise on 

 the Birds of Eastern North America ; by Rev. J. H. 

 Langille, M. A. ; pp. 624. Boston : 1S84. S. E. Cassino 

 & Company. 



