THE NIDIOLOGIST 



57 



and had eaten away considerable of the 

 flesh of that part of the bird. 



MEETING OF THE ANNEX. 



At a meeting of the Sonthern California 

 Annex of the Club, December ij, at Pasa- 

 dena, a preposition to publish a list of 

 Southern California birds was made by Mr. 

 Grinnell. It was decided to call for notes 

 from all Ornithologists. A paper on the 

 Red-breasted and Williamson's Sapsucker 

 was read by Mr. Grinnell. Tongues of 

 tnese Sapsuckers were exhibited and the 

 diflference between them and the tongues of 

 the true Woodpeckers pointed out. Mr. 

 Arnold read a paper on Lewis' Woodpecker 

 and raised the question whether this bird, 

 as well as the California Woodpecker, puts 

 acorns in the bark of trees. A Red-naped 

 Sapsucker was exhibited, this making lo 

 different Woodpeckers taken near Pasa- 

 dena. The Purple Finches. Goldfinches 

 and Siskin will be taken up at the next 

 meeting, January 7. 



Recent Publications. 



TJie Museum is a new 32-page illustrated 

 "monthly magazine devoted to research in 

 natural history, " eight pages of which are 

 given to advertisements. The journal we 

 are assured "has come to stay," but 

 whether the broad field which it attempts 

 to cover can be satisfactorily treated, even 

 in the course of twelve numbers, remains 

 to be seen. The initial number which ap- 

 peared in November, this year, we give a 

 welcome and note that it is largely com- 

 posed of Ornithological articles:" An Old 

 Timer's Greeting," "Nesting of the Whip- 

 poor-will," "I^abrador Notes," "The Nest- 

 ing Habits of the Yellow-billed Tropic 

 Bird" and "Notes from the Interior of 

 Mexico" deal wholly or in part with birds. 

 TJie Museum is ably edited and published 

 by Walter F. Webb at Albion, N. Y. 



"Pelicans." by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, 

 Popular Science News, November, 1894. 

 A short popular account of these birds, 

 illustrated by a reduced cut by the author 

 of the Brown Pelican after Audubon. The 

 White Pelican is said to la}^ but a single 

 G.gg\ this is probably a slip, for certainly 

 the same species in Oregon lays usually 

 two or three eggs for a setting. Dr. 

 Shufeldt states that the water t^ken into 



the pouch of the Brown Pelican when fish 

 are caught "runs out at the angles of the 

 mouth" when the head is thrown backward 

 in swallowing a fish. Observers of the 

 California Brown Pelican have said that 

 when the fish is first caught the bird sits 

 sedately upon the water with the bill 

 drawn close to the neck for a few moments, 

 when the water escapes through the slightly 

 parted mandibles, after which an upward 

 toss of the bill places the fish well into the 

 gular pouch — this referring to the catching 

 of single fishes; when several are taken 

 from a school the risk of losing some may 

 cause them to reverse the order of proced- 

 ure. 



The American Museum of Natural History 

 has issued a "Visitor's Guide "to the Local 

 Collection of Birds with a briefly annotated 

 list of the birds known to occur within fifty 

 miles of New York City, by Frank M. 

 Chapman. The list includes 348 species 

 (and subspecies) and is illustrated by cuts 

 from Cones' "Key" and full-page illustra- 

 tions from Dr. Shufeldt 's "Scientific Taxi- 

 dermy." Aside from the purpose of its 

 publication it must be a useful hand-book 

 to beginners of the study of birds near New 

 York. A list of the principal publications 

 on the birds of the area treated is appended. 



NOTES AND COMMENT. 



The three copies of your paper received, and I 

 am very much interested in them. The colored 

 plate is particularly good and I congratulate you 

 on having such a handsome set of leiiciirtis. — L. 

 W. Brownell, Nyack, N. Y. 



Los Angkt.ES, Nov. 16, 1894. 

 Henry Reed Taylor, Editor "-Nidiologist,'' Ala- 

 meda, Cal. 



Dear Sir: My writing has led your composi- 

 tor a little astray' in the spelling of two or three 

 words in December number. Where further 

 mentioned please observe the spelling: Hoquiam 

 not Hoquine; Quimper uot Ouiniper; Stevens not 

 Steven's and Humptulips. 



Yours very truly, 



R. H. Lawrence. 



I FIND The N1D101.OGIST a most interesting 

 magazine, and worthy of a high place among pub- 

 lications of this character. — Thomas H. Jackson, 

 West Chester, Pa. 



Enclosed please find one dollar for Nid. for 

 1895. Without exception it is the best and most 

 interesting magazine on birds I have ever sub- 

 scribed for. Best wishes for the new ye.&r.— Jos. 

 E. Gould, Dentiison, Ohio. 



