164 



Bird -Lore 



The Bird Calendar. By Clarence 

 Moores Weed. Rand, McNally & 

 Co. 321110. 80 pages. 



The purpose for which this booklet and 

 similar ones for trees and flowers is in- 

 tended, is best explained in their author's 

 preface: "The use of these books will give 

 a connection between school work and out- 

 door observations of the pupil that is very 

 advantageous. They will dignify the 

 nature-study work, and will develop the 

 power of seeing things accurately" — re- 

 marks which we heartily endorse. J. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Osprey. — The April number of 

 ' The Osprey ' opens with a most interest- 

 ing and instructive article on the ' Feeding 

 Habits of the Coot and other Water-Fowl,' 

 by B. W. Evermann. The observations 

 were made at Lake Maxinkuckee, Indiana, 

 upon twenty-seven species of birds, but, as 

 the title of the paper indicates, the Coot 

 received the greatest amount of attention. 

 Professor Evermann found that this bird, 

 which is usually despised by sportsmen, is 

 an expert diver, and as an article of food is 

 superior to most Ducks. Early in the sea- 

 son the Coots fed largely on the winter 

 buds of the wild celery, but after these be- 

 came scarce and hard to procure, other 

 aquatic plants were eaten In securing this 

 food it was often necessary for them to go 

 to a depth of over twenty feet, and to re- 

 main under water for at least a quarter of a 

 minute. The paper on the vernacular 

 names of the birds of the Marianne, or 

 Ladrone Islands, by W. E. Safford, is con- 

 tinued from the March issue and contains 

 notes on thirty-five species of birds, 

 together with an alphabet of the Chamorro 

 language. The May and June numbers 

 contain several noteworthy papers. In the 

 ' Winter Water-fowl of the Des Moines 

 Rapids,' E. S. Currier treats of the various 

 species that inhabited the open holes 

 during the winter, and especially of the 

 Golden-eye, or Whistler, which was the 

 commonest Duck. 



B. J. Bretherton makes some pertinent 

 remarks on the ' Destruction of Birds by 



Lighthouses,' and gives interesting details 

 showing how vast numbers of migrating 

 birds are killed. 'The Works of John 

 Cassin,' by Doctor Gill; 'Recent Views 

 of the Sable or Ipswich Sparrow,' by W. 

 E. Saunders; 'The Mississippi Kite,' by 

 A. F. Ganier ; ' Northern Parula Warbler,' 

 by J. M. Swain; and 'The Porto Rican 

 Pewee,' by B. S. Bowdish, are all of in- 

 terest and are well worthy of careful read- 

 ing. The three supplements, containing 'A 

 General History of Birds' by Doctor Gill, 

 cover twenty pages. The great delay in the 

 appearance of ' The Osprey ' is partly due 

 to the serious illness of the esteemed editor, 

 Doctor Gill. We are glad to allay anxiety, 

 however, by assuring his friends that he has 

 so far recovered his health as to be able to 

 enjoy literary work once again. — A. K. F. 



Wilson Bulletin.— Number 39 of ' The 

 Wilson Bulletin ' has appeared since our 

 last review, and contains ' Winter Bird 

 Studies in Lorain County, Ohio,' by Lynds 

 Jones; 'A Preliminary List of the Birds of 

 Yakima County, Washington,' by W. L. 

 Dawson; ' Incubation Period of the Mock- 

 ing Bird,' by J. W. Daniel, Jr., and the 

 recording of the European Widgeon as a 

 new bird for Ohio by Lynds Jones. Pro- 

 fessor Jones has devoted a great deal of time 

 and energy during the past six years in 

 making a study of the winter birds of 

 Lorain county as complete as possible. He 

 found it impracticable to work over this 

 whole area, so chose as an alternative five 

 routes that would bring him in contact with 

 the most diversified country. As a reward 

 for this labor sixty-five winter residents 

 were observed, of which fifty were of more 

 or less regular occurrence. A map showing 

 the routes along which observations were 

 made accompanies this interesting paper. 

 Local bird lists from the northwest are 

 especially desirable; consequently the paper 

 by W. L. Dawson on ' The Birds of 

 Yakima County, Washington,' is most 

 timely. The author wishes it to be under- 

 stood that this list of one hundred and 

 twenty-three species, which is necessarily 

 incomplete on account of the extent of terri- 

 tory, is merely a working basis for future 



