iSoDfe jBtetos; anti 3RetoietD0 



Useful Birds and Their Protection. 

 Containing brief descriptions of the more 

 common and useful species of Massachu- 

 setts, with accounts of the food habits, 

 and a chapter on the means of attracting 

 and protecting birds. By Edward Howe 

 FoRBUSH, Ornithologist of the State Board 

 of Agriculture. Illustrated by the author, 

 C. Allan Lyford, Chester A. Reed, and 

 others. Published under direction of the 

 Massachusetts State Board of Agricul- 

 ture. [1907.] 8vo. XX + 437 pages, 171 

 figures, 56 plates. 



In no single volume known to us is the 

 importance of birds to man so satisfac- 

 torily established. Mr. Forbush is not only 

 an ornithologist but an entomologist as well, 

 and, furthermore, he has had wide experi- 

 ence in making a personal presentation of 

 the results of his studies to those for whom 

 they were primarily intended. He is there- 

 fore exceptionally well equipped to state the 

 birds' case in their varied relations to man, 

 and we are assured that no one who will 

 read this volume conscientiously will fail to 

 be convinced by his arguments. 



The book contains an amazing amount 

 of information and still is interesting read- 

 ing—a rare and valuable combination. 

 Bird-Lore's space only permits of the fol- 

 lowing synopsis: Chapter I, "The Value of 

 Birds to Man," under which are included 

 sections on "Primitive Man's Relations to 

 Nature," "The Increase of Insect Pests," 

 "Capacity of Birds for Destroying Pests," 

 "The Increase of Injurious Insects Follow- 

 ing the Destruction of Birds," "The De- 

 struction of Injurious Mammals by Birds," 

 "The Commercial Value of Birds," "The 

 Esthetic, Sentimental and Educational Value 

 of Birds," etc. 



In Chapter II, "The Utility of Birds in 

 W^oodlands," and the "Relations of the 

 Bird to the Tree" are discussed. Chapter 

 III treats of birds as "Destroyers of Hairy 

 Caterpillars and Plant Lice," while Chap- 

 ter IV states the "Economic Service of 

 Birds in the Orchard." Chapters V and 

 VI and VIII to X contain descriptions and 

 biographies with special reference to food 



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habits of our common birds under such 

 groupings as "Song Birds of Orchard and 

 Woodland," "Birds of Field and Garden," 

 "Birds of the Air," "Birds of Marsh and 

 Waterside," etc. In Chapter XI we have 

 an exceptionally valuable contribution to the 

 question of bird destruction under the head- 

 ing "Checks upon the Increase of Useful 

 Birds," and in Chapter XII, under the title 

 "The Protection of Birds," we have one of 

 the best contributions to practical bird pro- 

 tection with which we are familiar. The 

 illustrations, many of them by the author, 

 are admirable, and, all in all, we have here 

 a book which will long remain the most 

 comprehensive statement of the bird's claims 

 to man's attention. — F. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Auk. — Several papers in the April 

 issue deal minutely with the distribution of 

 birds in limited areas, H. H. Kopman dis- 

 cussing those of Louisiana and Mississippi ; 



B. H. Swales and P. A. Taverner, those 

 rare in or wrongly attributed to southeastern 

 Michigan, and J. F. Ferry, the winter 

 visitors of a section of northeastern Illinois. 

 R. Deane records an unusual flight of Gos- 

 hawks [Accipiter atricapillus), composed, 

 singularly enough, almost exclusively of 

 adult birds, which, during the past winter, 

 descended from the north and were noted by 

 many observers from Maine to Manitoba. 



H. A. Estabrook epitomizes the English 

 Sparrow problem, and advocates extermina- 

 tion of the birds; A. Brooks describes a 

 hybrid (with accompanying plate in black 

 and white); R. W. Williams, Jr., offers 

 further notes on some birds of Florida; W. 



C. Braislin, some on those of Long Island, 

 N. Y., and A. C. Bent gives us a pleasantly 

 readable account of the nesting of the 

 Marbled Godwit [Limosa fedoa), with half- 

 tones of its nest and eggs. 



The lays of Bewick's Wren are inter- 

 preted in musical notation by A. H. Howell 

 and H. Oldys; and who would suppose so 



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