25oDfe ^etos; anti Ctebielusi 



Life Histories of North American Gulls 

 AND Terns, Order Longipennes. By 

 Arthur Cleveland Bent. Bull. No. 113, 

 U. S. Nat. Mus., Washington, 1921. 

 x+345 pages, 77 half-tones, 16 colored 

 plates. 



Mr. Bent's volume on the life histories of 

 the diving birds (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 

 107) having acquainted ornithologists with the 

 wide scope and importance of his great 

 undertaking, it is safe to say that this addi- 

 tion to the series will receive an even heartier 

 welcome than was accorded its predecessor. 

 Doubtless no one is better prepared to 

 produce this monograph of our Gulls and 

 Terns than is Mr. Bent. His years of defi- 

 nitely directed field-work have permitted 

 him to study in their haunts a large part of 

 the species treated, and this experience has 

 not only given him much original material 

 but has enabled him to quote with discretion 

 from the work of others. The whole makes 

 a fully adequate and authoritative presen- 

 tation of his theme. We wish we could 

 speak with equal enthusiasm of the form in 

 which it is presented, but the typography 

 is not attractive, the paper employed is so 

 thin that the print shows through it, giving 

 the page a 'messy' appearance, and the use 

 of the book title instead of subject-matter 

 heading for every right-hand page is greatly 

 to be regretted. Doubtless these are matters 

 over which Mr. Bent has no control, but we 

 believe that he could improve upon the 

 arrangement of his text. Under the general, 

 center heading of 'Habits,' for example, is 

 included, under side, subheadings, para- 

 graphs on 'Plumages' and 'Eggs,' and near 

 the end of the biography a section on 'Be- 

 havior' is given wherein is often repeated 

 much that has already been stated under 

 'Habits.' 



The work is illustrated with a large number 

 of photographs from nature and admirable 

 plates of eggs in color. — F. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Auk. — The July number of The 

 Auk begins mth a discussion of some 



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philosophic interest by H. Mousely, in which 

 he concludes that by selecting a singing 

 station where the female later joins him and 

 near which the nest is built, a male bird in 

 the majority of cases really selects or estab- 

 lishes the general site of the nest. An ex- 

 haustive paper by Horace W. Wright 

 summarizes the occurrence of the Mocking- 

 bird in New England and Canada, that is to 

 the northeastward of its range of abundance, 

 with special reference to the Boston region. 

 This paper was completed by its author at 

 the very time of his death in June, 1920, and 

 has been edited by G. M. Allen. Conclusions 

 are that this species is pushing northward 

 the limit of its range along the coast to a 

 considerable extent by resident individuals. 

 A comparative frequency with which birds 

 are observed in fall and winter may be ex- 

 plained by their seeking shelter at those 

 seasons in park and village shrubbery, where 

 they are likely to be encountered by bird 

 students. 



'impressions of Bird Life in France,' by 

 E. L. Poole, is presented in the form of an 

 annotated list and illustrated with a half- 

 tone plate of sketches by the author (the 

 Aquatic Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, and 

 the Garden Warbler.) There seems to be 

 possibility of error with some of the identi- 

 fications. Otherwise it is very surprising 

 that Larus melanocephalus, not the abundant 

 Larus ridibundus, was the Black-headed 

 Gull observed. And whereas the Carrion 

 Crow which is listed should have been 

 present, contrary to what is said, it differs 

 but slightly from the Rook in size, and its 

 voice is said by other observers to resemble 

 somewhat that of our American Crow. 

 'Notes on the Winter and Early Spring 

 Birds of Southeastern Arkansas,' by Chres- 

 well J. Hunt, gives an annotated list of 98 

 species and races, prefaced by several pages 

 of excellent readable descriptive discus- 

 sion. The early dates at which certain 

 species arrive and nest near Tillar, Ark., are 

 interesting. 



'The Birds of Lake Poopo, Bolivia,' by 

 William Ray Allen, is a general discussion of 



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