134 



Bird- Lore 



account of 'The Elepaio of Hawaii,' by 

 H. W. Henshaw, two forms of this odd 

 flycatcher being recognized. We find fur- 

 ther along several annotated lists, one by 

 O. Widmann, on birds of Wequetonsing, 

 Mich., one by J. G. Wells on those of 

 Carriacou Island, West Indies, and one by 

 A. H. Clark on those of Margarita Island, 

 Venezuela, in the last paper a Spine-tail 

 (Synallaxis albescens nesio/is) and an Oriole 

 (Icterus xanthornus heliocides) being de- 

 scribed as new forms. 



' Notes on the Specialized Use of the Bas- 

 tard Wing,' by W. H. Fisher, is accom- 

 panied by photogravures throwing new light 

 on the position in flight of this little ' packet ' 

 of feathers. Instantaneous photography has 

 done much towards solving the complex 

 problem of flight, and such contributions as 

 Mr. Fisher's are of great value. J. Dwight, 

 Jr., discusses ' Plumage-Cycles and the Re- 

 lation Between Plumages and Moults," and 

 introduces a novel diagram that by the 

 graphic method shows this relation in a 

 number of species. O. P. Hay contributes 

 ' On the Finding of the Bones of the Great 

 Auk (Plautus impennis) in Florida,' and 

 the southern range of an extinct species is 

 thus extended. W. E. Saunders, who vis- 

 ited inaccessible Sable Island, Nova Scotia, 

 in May, 1901, gives us some details con- 

 cerning ' The Ipswich Sparrow in its 

 Summer Home,' especially data of six 

 nests secured with eggs. The ' Unusual 

 Abundance of the Snowy Owl ( Nyctea 

 nyctea ) in New England and Canada ' 

 during the past winter is vouched for by 

 R. Deane, who, on the evidence of many 

 correspondents, concludes that unusual in- 

 cursions of the Owls recur about once in 

 ten years. 



The department of ' General Notes ' is 

 interestingly filled with large and small 

 items, half-tone plates of the nest and 

 eggs of the Red-shouldered Hawk and 

 of the Ring-billed Gull, and of the car- 

 penter work of the Pileated Woodpecker 

 being inserted to illustrate some of the 

 notes. 



An ' Eleventh Supplement to the A. O. 

 U. Check-List of 1886,' which occupies 

 the concluding pages, furnishes food for 



reflection. Stability in nomenclature's still 

 only a dream, but, given the ' law of pri- 

 ority,' the 'process of elimination,' enough 

 eager investigators, and an inflexible com- 

 mittee, and eventually we shall have a new 

 outfit of fixed names, with pedigrees of syn- 

 onyms in as direct descent as the kings of 

 Assyria. — J. D., Jr. 



Journal of the Maine Ornithological 

 Society. — This publication continues to 

 improve in interest, each number con- 

 taining contributions of permanent value 

 of which mention should be made in these 

 columns. 



In the issue for January, 1902, No. 1, 

 Vol. IV, we find, in addition to brief notes, 

 a report of ' The Sixth Annual Meeting of 

 the Maine Ornithological Society,' together 

 with President Powers' address, delivered 

 on this occasion ; ' Some Ornithological 

 Problems for Maine,' a timely communica- 

 tion on lines which might well be adopted 

 at other State Ornithological Society meet- 

 ings; a history of 'One Yellow Warbler 

 Family,' by Homer R. Dill, which would 

 be more valuable if the author had given 

 definite dates of the various incidents he 

 records; 'The Bluebird,' by Guy H. 

 Briggs, in which the author deplores the- 

 decrease in the numbers of this species and 

 at the same time records the collecting of 

 five nests and five sets of five eggs each 

 from one pair of Bluebirds between May 1, 

 1901, and July 6, 1901, when the birds, 

 apparently both mentally and physically 

 discouraged, abandoned further attempts at 

 housekeeping! 



Number 2, Vol. IV, April, 1902, con- 

 tains 'A Trip to Muscongus Bay, Maine, 

 July4 and 5, 1901,' by Herbert L. Spinney, 

 a writer who has contributed much interest- 

 ing information in regard to coast- birds to- 

 the 'Journal'; 'Shooting Matches,' by 

 F. F. Burt, condemning the practice of 

 'Side-Hunts,' which, it seems, are still 

 indulged in by the "village loafers" of 

 Maine; 'A Phoebe's Summer,' by C. H. 

 Morrell; ' Winter Birds of Southern Pines, 

 N. C.,' by C. H. Morrell, a group photo- 

 graph of some of the members of the Society, 

 and various notes. — F. M. C. 



