Book News and Review 



213 



Summing up his own observations in 

 Essex county during the past twenty-eight 

 years, Dr. Townsend concludes that "shore 

 birds have diminished in numbers" and 

 that while Gulls and Terns decreased 

 "during the early years of this period, they 

 have noticeably increased during the last 

 few years owing to the efforts of the Audu- 

 bon Society." He adds that "the establish- 

 ment of public reservations where shooting 

 is forbidden is doing a great deal to bring 

 back former conditions." 



The 'Annotated List,' occupying pages 

 77-^21 of this 'Memoir,' treats of 319 in- 

 digenous, and two introduced species. 



The annotations include a statement of 

 the birds' manner of occurrence, migration 

 and nesting dates for the migrant and 

 breeding species, and much intimate bio- 

 graphical matter, several pages often being 

 devoted to a single species. Indeed, this 

 portion of the work contains so much 

 more information than is found in the 

 stereotyped 'Annotated List' that it is 

 deserving of a more dignified and com - 

 prehensive title. 



We must refer to it not only for informa- 

 tion concerning the local status of the birds 

 of Essex county, but for much new and 

 valuable material in relation to their habits. 

 The appearance of birds in life is often de- 

 scribed at length, a fact which should make 

 this book particularly helpful to students 

 of birds with a field-glass. 



It is, however, greatly to be regretted 

 that the usefulness of this admirable work 

 is largely impaired by a bulkiness which 

 renders it cumbersome to handle and denies 

 it a place on our book-shelves with other 

 faunal lists. Quarto size for works of re- 

 ference is now considered excusable only 

 when illustrative matter demands a large 

 page. It seems, therefore, most unfortunate 

 that the Nuttall Club should adhere to 

 this antiquated form for the exceptionally 

 important material contained in its ' Me- 

 moirs.' It is, we think, safe to say that, 

 in practice, the reference value of Mr. 

 Brewster's essay on migration, the first 

 memoir of the Club, would have been 

 doubled had it appeared as an octavo rather 

 than a quarto.— F. M. C. 



The Decrease of Certain Birds, and 

 Its Causes, With Suggestions For Bird 

 Protection. By Edward Howe For- 

 BUSH. Fifty-second Annual Report of 

 the Massachusetts State Board of Agri- 

 culture, pages 429-543. 



This is a capital paper. Prepared with 

 due regard to the difficulties incident to the 

 proper treatment of the subject, it possesses 

 a value wanting, to say the least, in those 

 surprisingly definite papers on bird destruc- 

 tion wheie the percentage of decrease in the 

 bird-life of a given region is stated with the 

 exactness of a government census. 



Long-continued observation and detailed 

 notes are the only satisfactory basis on 

 which to make a comparison of the past and 

 present bird-life of a given region. Mr. 

 Forbush thoroughly understands this and, 

 after weighing the evidence presented by some 

 two hundred observers, concludes that proba- 

 bly "the smaller birds in general have not 

 decreased greatly in Massachusetts, as a 

 whole, in recent years, except in and near 

 centers of population." 



The expert testimony secured is presented 

 in detail, and the status of the birds reported 

 as diminishing is discussed at length. The 

 causes of the decrease of birds are then 

 considered ; man and his works being the 

 artificial cause, while among the natural 

 enemies of birds are included cats, foxes, 

 Crows, red-squirrels, English Sparrows, 

 certain Hawks, Blue Jays, weasels, minks 

 and skunks. It is interesting to note that 

 Mr. Forbush, like ail unprejudiced obser- 

 vers of the cat in relation to birds, considers 

 it the most destructive of all animals. We 

 agree, too, with his estimate of the Crow's 

 destructiveness to bird-life in the nest. 



Suggestions for the better protection of 

 birds concludes this sane and valuable con- 

 tribution to the literature of avian eco- 

 nomics. It should be read by every one 

 who ventures to have an opinion on the 

 points at issue. — F. M. C. 



' Some Benefits the Farmer May Derive 

 from Game Protection' (Dept. of Agri. 

 Year-book for 1904, pages 509-520) is a 

 practical discourse which should appeal ef- 

 fectively to every one who appreciates a 

 logical argument. 



