Book News and Reviews 



99 



observed in the Flathead Lake, Montana 

 region. 



Those who are familiar with the author's 

 studies of bird- life know that he is a close 

 observer and an excellent describer of birds' 

 habits, and much of the matter included in 

 this paper forms a most acceptable contri- 

 bution to our knowledge of the life-histories 

 of the species treated. — F. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Osprey. — Judging from the first 

 three numbers, the current volume of 'The 

 Osprey,' with its new type, full line pages, 

 better paper, more harmonious cover, care- 

 fully printed plates, and increased size, is 

 surely a vast improvement over previous 

 ones in mechanical make-up, and a great 

 stride in the direction of satisfactory book- 

 making. We are glad to see that Doctor 

 Gill has commenced the long-promised work 

 on the 'General History of Birds', which 

 was begun as a supplement to the January 

 issue, and which will be continued in that 

 form in subsequent numbers, with independ- 

 ent pagination from the main part of the 

 magazine, so that on completion of the work 

 it may be bound separately. The bio- 

 graphical sketches of Sir John Richardson 

 and John Cassin by the editor, and of Prof. 

 Alfred Newton by Dr. Shuffeldt, are of 

 special interest, and we trust that a goodly 

 number of the earlier ornithologists will 

 receive due attention. D. A. Cohen gives 

 us a good account of the California Jay and 

 W. C. Kendall has two papers in ' Random 

 Maine Bird Notes,' referring mainly to 

 the marked decrease of various birds, and 

 the habits of grouse. The following papers, 

 together with a number of shorter notes, are 

 of interest: William Palmer, 'August Birds 

 of Stony Man Mountain, Virginia;' M. S. 

 Ray, 'Rambles about My Old Home;' 

 F. H. Knowlton, 'The Mockingbird at 

 Home;' W. R. Maxon, 'Notes on some 

 Yellow-throated Vireos' Nests;' W. E. 

 Safford, ' Birds of the Marianne Islands;' 

 P. M. Silloway, ' Notes on McCown's 

 Longspur in Montana;' and B. S. Bowdish 

 on the Carib Grassquet.' We were a little 

 surprised to see in the review of Professor 



Macoun's ' Catalogue of Canadian Birds' a 

 statement by the reviewer that the Glaucous- 

 winged Gull and not the Point Barrow 

 Gull, is abundant about the Pribilof Islands. 

 In the summer of 1899 tne only large Gull 

 we positively identified about this group of 

 islands, as well as in the vicinity of St. 

 Matthew and St. Lawrence islands, was the 

 Point Barrow Gull.— A. K. F. 



Wilson Bulletin. — In ' Wilson Bulle- 

 tin ' No. 36, Lynds Jones gives an account 

 of ' All Day with the Birds ' in Lorain 

 county, Ohio, where on May 9, 1901, dur- 

 ing the interval between 4 a.m. and 2.30 

 P. M., he and his friend W. L. Dawson 

 identified 109 species — a feat hard to sur- 

 pass even in the few most favorable locali- 

 ties. On one other occasion (May 8, 1899J, 

 they recorded 112 species, which is, as far as 

 the reviewer knows, the largest list for any 

 one day. In the ' Passing of the Bird,' R. 

 W. Smith makes some pertinent remarks on 

 the decrease of birds in the south — a section 

 where game laws are badly needed and 

 where apathy allows even such a bird as 

 the Woodcock to remain unprotected dur- 

 ing the breeding season. 



F. L. Burns has devoted much time and 

 energy during the past three seasons, at 

 Berwyn, Pa., to making a careful count of 

 the breeding birds occupying a certain 

 diversified piece of ground covering about 

 a square mile. The results are well set 

 forth in 'Wilson Bulletin ' No. 37, under 

 the title of 'A Sectional Bird Census,' and 

 even a cursory glance shows that his self- 

 imposed task must have been a time-con- 

 suming one. After carefully checking up 

 the work of the three independent seasons, he 

 found that 62 species, representing 1,388 

 individuals, inhabited the section — a little 

 over a pair of birds to the acre. The Field 

 Sparrows, Red - eyed Vireos, Ovenbirds, 

 Chipping Sparrows, Robins and Catbirds 

 were most abundant, and the Cooper's 

 Hawk and English Sparrows were the only 

 injurious ones. We regret to see that in 

 enumerating the enemies of the birds he 

 failed to call direct attention to the cat, 

 which without doubt destroys as many birds 

 as all other animate agencies combined. 



