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Bird- Lore 



Beginning with March, 1905, the Society 

 starts Volume VII of the 'Journal' much en- 

 larged and improved in typography. The 

 Ninth Annual Meeting of the Society is 

 treated in full. F. T. Noble discusses the 

 question, ' Are the Choicer Varieties of 

 Ducks Increasing in Maine Waters, and if 

 so, Why?' He inclines to the affirmative, 

 and attributes the increase to the spread of 

 wild rice. J. Merton Swain writes a 'Life 

 History of the Mourning Warbler'; C. H. 

 Clark gives some ' Additions to an Eastern 

 Maine Collection,' and there are numerous 

 notes of local interest. This number is by 

 far the most creditable yet published. The 

 June number maintains the new standard, 

 the leading articles being ' Notes on the 

 Birds of the Lower Dead River,' by J. M. 

 Swain; 'The Black and White Warbler,' 

 by E. E. Johnson, and an account of ' A 

 Nest of the Northern Raven,' by C. H. 

 Clark. A migration report covering four 

 localities for the spring of 1903 is published. 

 — W. S. 



The Wilson Bulletin.— The issue of 

 this standard journal for June (New Ser. 

 XII, No. 2) contains a list of one hundred 

 and sixty species of birds seen within the 

 limits of Greater New York "during the 

 past year" by George E.Hix; 'Birds vs. 

 Street Cars,' by Marion E. Sparks; ' Au- 

 tumn Birds of Leo Cheneaux Islands,' a 

 briefly annotated list of forty-eight species by 

 Walter C. Wood ; 'The Spotted Sandpiper, ' 

 by Chreswell J. Hunt; ' Bird Horizons from 

 Russellville, Ky.,' by G. C. Embody; 

 'Winter Notes on the Yellow-bellied Sap- 

 sucker,' by C. H. Morris, and nesting of the 

 same species by J. Claire Wood. 



In ' All Day With the Birds at Durmid, 

 Va.,' W. F. Herninger, records one hun- 

 dred and five species, and six hundred 

 and four individuals as noted on May 8, 

 1905. Under ' Some Further Suggestions 

 for Bird Study,' Lynds Jones calls attention 

 to the importance of accurate local lists, 

 " the need for more extensive and more ex- 

 act knowledge of the breeding habits of 

 birds," the possibilities of embryological 

 studies and of observations on distribution 

 and migration. Above all, he emphasizes 



the need of definiteness in planning our 

 studies. Do not attempt to do too much. 

 "One minor point under one of the minor 

 heads is worth earnest effort." 'General 

 Notes ' and ' Book Reviews ' conclude the 

 number. — F. M. C. 



The Warbler. — The two numbers of 

 'The Warbler' (Nos. 2 and 3, New Ser. 

 Vol. I) which have appeared since our last 

 notice ofthis quarterly contain much interest- 

 ing and scientifically valuable matter. In 

 Number 2, A. T. Wayne's account of the 

 Little Black Rail in South Carolina should 

 settle the identity of the bird which, known 

 as the Kik-ker, puzzled Cambridge ornitho- 

 logists for several seasons; F. B. Spaulding 

 writes of 'Bicknell's Thrush'; John Lewis 

 Childs presents 'California Notes,' as well 

 as a continuation of his ' Birds Breeding 

 within the Limits of the City of New York.' 

 R. D. Hoyt records the taking of two sets 

 of two eggs each of the Ivory-billed Wood- 

 pecker, and P. B. Peabody discourses on 

 the ' Nesting of the Yellow Rail.' The 

 eggs of the two Rails mentioned are figured 

 in color, and there are half-tones of Golden 

 Eagle and Ivory-bill eggs. Important 

 papers in Number 3, are 'Eggs of the 

 Ipswich Sparrow' (with colored plate), 

 by W. E. Saunders; 'A Night Among 

 the Clouds with Bicknell's Thrush,' by 

 John Lewis Childs; 'Recollections of the 

 Passenger Pigeon,' by John Burroughs, with 

 contributions on the same subject by John 

 Lewis Childs and W. Otto Emerson; 'The 

 Tolmie [-Macgillivray; the common name of 

 this bird has not been changed] Warbler in 

 Wyoming,' by P. B. Peabody; 'Eggs of the 

 Rufous-crowned Sparrow' (colored plate); 

 and 'In the Haunts of the White-throated 

 Sparrow,' by H. Nehrling. Mr. Childs 

 continues his paper on 'Birds Breeding 

 Within the Limits of the City of New 

 York,' treating here of eight species. Local 

 ornithologists, we imagine, would not al- 

 ways agree with Mr. Childs' statements, and 

 we suggest that a discussion of these papers 

 at the Linnaean Society, before publication, 

 would result in their more fully reflecting 

 our knowledge of the birds nesting in the 

 area in question. — F. M. C. 



