274 



Bird -Lore 



opposition may be expected from the esti- 

 mated ID per cent of dissenters who can- 

 not square their scientific consciences 

 with the heresies proposed in the new 

 'Article 30.'— J. D , Jr. 



Book News 



To the evergrowing list of defunct 

 nature magazines must be added the 

 name of 'Birds and Nature,' one of the 

 best known and oldest publications of 

 this class. In May last, the first number 

 of a new series was issued in a form show- 

 ing a marked improvement over earlier 

 volumes, but evidently sufficient support 

 was not received to warrant the issue of 

 further numbers. 



The 'Bleating' or 'Drumming' of 

 Snipe (Gallinago) is the subject of an 

 exhaustive paper by P. H. Bahr, in the 

 Proceedings of the Zoological Society 

 (1907, pp. 12-35). Ml"- Bahr's experi- 

 ments appear to prove that the sound is 

 produced by the passage through the air 

 of the outer feather on each side of the tail 

 which, his observations of Gallinago 

 ccBlestis show, are spread forward beyond 

 the remaining tail-feathers when the bird 

 is bleating. The paper should be read by 

 those who propose to investigate this 

 subject. 



Dr. T. S. Roberts contributes to 'A 

 Pioneer History of Becker County, Minne- 

 sota' (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.) a 

 compiled list of the birds of the county, 

 numbering 262 species. Its annotations 

 make it of value to the student of the 

 birds of the region in question. An article 

 on the 'Disappearing Birds and Game- 

 birds of Becker County,' by D. W. 

 Meeker, is included in the same volume. 

 Magazines which are taking an active 

 part in the 'nature-fakir' campaign 

 should make doubly sure that their own 

 columns are free from errors of statement, 

 the result of carelessness or inexcusable 

 ignorance For example, the magazine 

 in which President Roosevelt has, with 

 characteristic force, denounced those na- 

 ture-writers who present fiction for fact, 

 contains an article entitled 'The Mystery 



of Bird-flight ' in which we are informed 

 with due authoritativeness that the Emu 

 "flies, when at all, with the greatest 

 difficulty"! 



In the September issue of the Massa- 

 chusetts 'Crop Report,' Mr. E. H. For- 

 bush, under the title 'Statutory Bird Pro- 

 tection in Massachusetts, ' reviews the 

 history of bird laws in Massachusetts 

 from 1632 to the present time, and adds 

 suggestions for "needed legislation," in 

 which he urges the abolition of spring and 

 summer shooting, the issuance of a resident 

 hunting license, the prohibition of the sale 

 of game birds, the granting to wardens of 

 the right of search, and the establishment 

 of sanctuaries or reservations. 



In the October, 1907, issue of 'The 

 Museum News,' published by the Brook- 

 lyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, Mr." 

 George Cherrie, of the Museum, gives an 

 account of his visit to the caves of the 

 Guacharo (Sleatornis caripensis) in the 

 mountains of Trinidad, which is not only 

 a capital story of field experience, but 

 adds considerably to our knowledge of 

 the habits of this remarkable bird. 



In addition to articles of local interest, 

 'British Birds' contains papers of a gen- 

 eral character which may be read with 

 profit by all ornithologists. In the Novem- 

 ber issue, for example, we find the third 

 part of W. P. Pycraft's suggestive study 

 of 'Nestling Birds, and Some of the Pro- 

 blems They Present' and also the third 

 part of F. W. Headley's article on 'Wind 

 and Flight.' 



Witherby & Co., 326 High Holborn, 

 London, W. C, have issued a prospectus 

 of 'A Monograph of the Petrels' by F. Du 

 Cane Godman. The work will be a large 

 quarto, issued in five parts, the first of 

 which will be ready in December, 1907. 

 It will contain 105 hand-colored plates by 

 Keulemans and is offered at the sub- 

 scription price of £2, 5s per part, or ^10, 

 IDS for the complete work. 



The Bulletin of the Charleston Museum 

 (Vol. Ill, No. 6, Oct. 1907) contains a 

 section devoted to the local fauna, in 

 which are various ornithological notes of 

 interest. 



