THE NIDIOLOGIST 



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The American Crow, by F. L. Burns, Bulletin A^o. 5, 

 Wilson Orniihological Chapter of the Agassiz Associa- 

 tion. This report comes from a committee of special 

 investigation, of wliich Mr. Burns was appointed 

 •chairman in 1891, and is compiled from the notes of 

 many observers in varied localities, from Ontario to 

 Florida, twenty-eight States being represented. The 

 report is very comprehensive, and presents many 

 facts of value, both to the casual Ornithologist and 

 the economic scientist ; the food, habits, and charac- 

 teristics of the Crow being fully discussed. The 

 series of descriptions of eggs will interest the Oolo- 

 gist, also the table showing the upward gradation in 

 size of eggs from the South northward. Concerning 

 the neglect of common species in the study of life 

 histories of birds, Mr. Burns says: "We are in- 

 debted to the pioneer Ornithologists, and to some of 

 the present day popular writers (the latter making no 

 display of scientific attainments), for almost all we 

 know of the habits of this and many other common 

 species." 



While not attempting to justify the destruction 

 wrought by the Crow upon cultivated fruit, grain, and 

 vegetables, or the eggs and young of wild and 

 ■domestic birds, Mr. Burns is convinced that " the 

 benefits derived from their destruction of injurious 

 insects, rodents, etc., and their work as scavengers, 

 largely offsets the damage done by them, if it does 

 not indeed overbalance it. This applies to such dis- 

 tricts as do not contain an overabundance of the 

 birds." 



The abundance of the Crow is attributed to its 

 " habitual watchfulness and acute senses, the situa- 

 tion of its nest, and to its breeding in the busiest 

 time of the year." 



Mr. Henry R. Buck, of Wethersfield, Conn., gives 

 a curious method in use by farmers to prevent the 

 Crows' depredations. " When the eggs hatch ' then 

 the trouble begins ' for the farmer," says Mr. Buck, 

 "as the corn comes up about that time and the 

 young birds must eat. I do not think the Crows dig 

 up the kernel before it sprouts, but from the time the 

 blade first shows above the ground until it is three 

 inches high they seem to consider it their lawful 

 property. They pull up the sprouts for the kernels 

 at the end. The Crow does great damage in this 

 way, especially in isolated fields, where the whole 

 crop has sometimes to be replanted. There are two 

 methods in use here for preventing this loss. The 

 first and oldest way is to stretch white cotton strings 

 around and across the field about six feet above the 

 ground. The Crow, proverbially, is a cunning bird, 

 and when he sees the strings he e.xpects a trap and 

 seldom goes into the fields. This way has been 

 largely given up on account of its inconvenience and 

 cost. The way now followed is that of coating the 

 corn with tar. This gives a bitter taste to the kernel, 

 so the Crows let it alone after pulling up one or two 

 spears. The usual way of preparing the corn is to 

 pour hot water over it and let it soak awhile ; then 

 for every bushel of corn put in perhaps a half pint of 

 North Carolina tar, as it is labeled. This is better 

 than the coal tar because it does not have to be 

 melted. The water is then poured off and plaster, 

 ashes or sand is mixed to keep the kernels from 

 sticking together. This hinders the growth probably 



a day or two, but is a perfect protection against the 

 Crows." We are pleased to learn that this excellent 

 report is the first of a series of similar ones to appear 

 in the future. 



Some of the " Outliers" Among Birds is the title of 

 an interesting article by Dr. k. W. Shufeldt in the 

 Popular Science Monthly for April. The paper is well 

 illustrated with drawings, by the author, of the Secre- 

 tary Bird, the Seriema, the Sun Bittern, Trumpeter, 

 Hoactzin, and other singular existing forms. Of 

 these "Outliers " Dr. Shufeldt says : "Although at 

 the present writing there is, by no means, a unanim- 

 ity of opinion as to the positions many of them 

 occupy in the system, they nevertheless at once 

 threw a powerful light upon the whole field of Orni- 

 thology. Ornithotomists everywhere the world 

 over carefully investigated their anatomical structure, 

 and groups of birds long thought to be widely sepa- 

 rated were seen to be, through these forms, more or 

 less nearly related to each other, and the fact as a whole 

 was demonstrated beyond cavil that the class ^w^j- had 

 arisen from primitive reptilian stock." H. R. T. 



A Ha7idhook of the Birds of Eastern North America. 

 By Frank M. Chapman. New York. D. Appleton & 

 Co., 1895. i2mo, pp. 420. Plates and text figures. 

 $3. (Two editions, library and pocket — the first with 

 heavy paper and broad margins ; the latter with thin 

 paper and no margins.) 



In this very excellent little treatise the reviewer 

 recognizes another contribution to our Ornithological 

 literature that cannot fail to at once meet with favor 

 upon every hand. Mr. Chapman, its author, in the 

 first place, is most eminently qualified to write the very 

 kind of a volume he has aimed to place before us, and 

 in nearly all particulars his efforts have been to a high 

 degree most successful. Further, he' has supplement- 

 ed his own labors by those of a number of others, 

 and no less well-known Ornithologists than Brewster, 

 Dr. Fisher, Dutcher, and Richmond have contributed 

 the data for the time of presence of species at Cam- 

 bridge, Sing Sing, Long Island, and Washington re- 

 spectively. Besides these, we have throughout the 

 work most delightful biographical sketches of various 

 species, of a popular nature, from the pens of Mrs. 

 Olive Thorne Miller, Miss Merriam, and Messrs. 

 Brewster, Dwight, Ernest E. Thompson, Bickneli, 

 and Bradford Torrey. So many features of the book 

 will commend it as a whole to both young and old— 

 to the professional in Ornithological science, as well as 

 to the amateur — that little more than the enumeration of 

 the principal ones can be hoped for in such a brief review 

 as is here attempted. Its wealth of new and original 

 matter ; its very convenient pocket-size ; the clear, un- 

 technical descriptions ; its beautiful plates and excel- 

 lent text figures ; its admirable arrangement through- 

 out, with its most useful " Keys" (illustrated by fig- 

 ures), and a great deal else besides, will delight every 

 lover of birds and student of the science in America, 

 and at once stamp this helpful volume with a charac- 

 ter of its own, rendering it worthy of a place in libra- 

 ries the world over. 



If there be aught to criticise in the book at all, it 

 is, as a rule, found to be purely of a technical nature. 

 For the purposes of measurement the best Ornitholo- 

 gists of the day employ the metric system, whereas 

 Mr. Chapman, probably to insure greater popularity 

 in that direction, has seen fit to use the inch and its 

 fractions. This is a serious mistake in any work hav- 

 ing any claim to strict science, and ought in future 

 editions to be remedied. Again, in the matter of clas- 

 sification, Mr. Chapman is not altogether consistent, 

 nor has he availed himself of what has been clearly 



