^otik ^etDsi anb Iftedtetus; 



Territory in Bird-Life. By H. Eliot 

 Howard. With illustrations by G. E. 

 Lodge and H. Gronvold. 8vo, xiv+308 

 pages, II photogravures, 2 line-cuts. E. P. 

 Button & Co., New York. 1920. 



In this volume Mr. Howard has made a 

 contribution to the study of birds in nature 

 of unusual importance. Briefly, a bird's 

 'territory' is the area in which the nest is 

 built and which is protected from trespass by 

 other individuals of the same species (and 

 rarely closely allied species) during the whole 

 nesting season from the time the male arrives 

 until parental cares end for the season. The 

 size of the territory may vary from a few 

 square feet with colonial nesting birds like 

 Murres, to a very much larger area with birds 

 like Duck Hawks and Eagles; its extent, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Howard, is dependent prima- 

 rily on the amount of food it can supply, or 

 which, as in the case of the Murres, can be 

 found in the immediate vicinity. 



It is shown that the acquisition of this 

 home habitat is essential to the existence of 

 the species and that to take possession of it 

 is the first in the series of acts included in the 

 season of reproduction. 



With migratory birds, the male, prompted 

 by an internal organic change,^ begins his 

 journey toward the breeding-ground in 

 advance of the female in order to take pos- 

 session of the nesting territory. With re- 

 sident species, which may have wintered in 

 flocks or bands, the males leave the females 

 for the same purpose, evidence that the 

 acquiring of the home-site is at this time of 

 more importance than mating. Having 

 selected his territory, the bird announces his 

 title to it by song. He thus proclaims his 

 presence to the female when she arrives and 

 at the same time warns intruders that he has 

 'staked his claim.' 



Mr. Howard presents a mass of detailed 

 observations in support of this thesis and at 

 the same time opens a fascinating field of 

 study for those who have the time, patience, 

 training, and temperament to pursue this 



subject further. We add 'temperament,' for 

 the temptation to explain the actions of birds 

 in terms of human nature is particularly 

 strong in studies of this character, and unless 

 sympathy with one's subject be checked by 

 good judgment and scientific discrimination, 

 the result is more apt to be fancy than fact. 



In Mr. Howard's case we feel that he has 

 not given due consideration to the tempera- 

 ment of the bird. Some species we know are 

 of a sociable, others of a solitary disposition. 

 Colonial nesting habits are not always to be 

 explained by lack of suitable nesting-sites, 

 but by the desire for companionship. 



The Brown Pelicans, of Pelican Island, in 

 Indian River, Florida, for example, ignore 

 hundreds of favorable sites, some within 

 gunshot of their home, to crowd together on 

 one small island. The Flamingoes of Andros 

 Island in the Bahamas, place their nests 

 within a few feet of one another when each 

 bird, if it desired, might have a territory of 

 many square acres. Cliff Swallows nest in 

 close-massed clusters where scores of favor- 

 able sites are available. — F. M. C. 



Economic Value of the Starling in the 

 United States. By E. R. Kalmbach 

 and I. N. Gabrielson, Asst. Biologists. 

 Bull. No. 868, U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture; Contribution from the Bureau of 

 Biological Survey. 8vo, 64 pages, 4 plates 

 (i colored), 3 text figures. 



Regarded as a contribution to economic 

 or biographic ornithology, this is a model 

 piece of work. It is based on adequate, ex- 

 haustive observations in field and study by 

 men wholly qualified for their task and the 

 great mass of data secured is presented in a 

 readable, informing document. 



The publication may be secured from the 

 Superintendent of Documents at Wash- 

 ington for 25 cents a copy, and it should be in 

 the possession of every one who desires to 

 know the history of this European bird in 

 our country. 



Here we may simply state that after a 



iThe reviewer may be pardoned for stating that he called attention to this fact in an article on the 

 'Origin of Bird Migration' published in 'The Auk' for 1894, pp. 12-17. 



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