iloofe jBtetofi^ anti 3^etoieto0 



Birds in Their Relations to Man. A 

 Manual of Economic Ornithology for the 

 United States and Canada. By Clar- 

 ence M. Weed and Ned Dearborn. 

 Philadelphia and London. J. B. Lip- 

 pincott Company. 1903. lamo. viii + 

 380 pages, numerous illustrations. 



The authors state that the need of this 

 book "was first shown when the senior 

 author undertook to teach a college class 

 the subject of economic ornithology, and its 

 first draft consisted of the lectures prepared 

 for that class. When, later, the junior 

 author — a life - long student of birds — 

 became associated with him, a joint study 

 of the whole subject was undertaken, the 

 results of which are here presented." 



This work has evidently, therefore, been 

 prepared from a practical, teachers' point of 

 view, a fact which should add greatly to its 

 value. In treating a subject into which 

 statistics enter so largely and which, in its 

 details, is lacking in popular interest, there 

 was an excellent opportunity to produce a 

 book which would be far from attractive. 



The authors, however, appear to have 

 avoided this difficulty, and to have made a 

 readable volume, containing, at the same 

 time, a vast amount of information, as is 

 indicated by the following table of contents: 

 Introduction, ' The Relations of Birds to 

 Man ' ; Chapter I, ' The Methods of Study- 

 ing the Food of Birds ' ; Chapter II, ' The 

 Development of Economic Ornithology ' ; 

 Chapter III, ' The Vegetable Food of 

 Birds'; Chapter IV, 'The Animal Food 

 of Birds'; Chapter V, 'The Amount of 

 Food Consumed by Birds"; Chapter VI, 

 ' Birds as Regulators of Outbreaks of In- 

 jurious Animals'; Chapter VII, 'The 

 Relations of Birds to Predaceous and Para- 

 sitic Insects '; Chapters VIII to XX, Sys- 

 tematic Treatment of the Food of North 

 American Birds by Families and Species; 

 Chapters XXI and XXII, ' The Conserva- 

 tion of Birds '; Chapter XXIII, 'Preventing 

 the Depredations of Birds'; Chapter 

 XXIV, ' Encouraging the Presence of 



Birds ' ; Appendix I, ' The Bird Law of 

 the American Ornithologists' Union ' ; Ap- 

 pendix II, ' The Lacey Bird Law ' ; Ap- 

 pendix III, ' Some Fundamental Principles 

 of Bird Laws'; Appendix IV, ' A Partial 

 Bibliography of the Economic Relations of 

 North American Birds.' 



It is evident from this citation of chapter- 

 headings that this book contains more 

 information in regard to the general subject 

 of economic ornithology than has before 

 been brought into one volume, a fact which 

 should, and we trust will, commend it to 

 every one interested in the more practical 

 side of the birds' relations to man. — 

 F. M. C. 



Proceedings of the Nebraska Ornithol- 

 ogists' Union at its Third Annual 

 Meeting. Edited by Robert H. Wol- 

 COTT. Lincoln, Neb. 8vo. 108 pages, 

 xvi plates, numerous text-cuts. 



The third volume of these ' Proceedings' 

 contains a report of the meeting of this ac- 

 tive organization held at Lincoln, February 

 I, 1902, and the papers which were there 

 presented. The officers elected for the en- 

 suing year were: President, J. M. Bates; 

 vice-president, Mrs. George H. Payne; 

 corresponding secretary, J. C. Crawford, 

 Jr.; recording secretary, R. H. Wolcott; 

 treasurer, Augest Eiche. 



The papers here published include an 

 admirable address by the retiring president. 

 Professor E. H. Barbour, on 'The Pro- 

 genitors of Birds,' with numerous illustra- 

 tions; 'A Story that Ends Rightly,' by 

 Frank H. Shoemaker (illustrated); 'Water 

 for Birds,' by Elsie Pepoon ; 'From a 

 Woman's Standpoint,' by Nell Harrison; 

 'Ten Years Without a Gun,' by Wilson 

 Tout; 'A Pair of Young Barred Owls,' 

 by Elizabeth Van Sant (illustrated); 'Notes 

 on the Distribution and Habits of the Blue 

 Grosbeak in Nebraska,' by Myron H. 

 Swenk ; 'Some Birds Found Around Dun- 

 bar During Winter Months,' by E. H. 

 Jones; 'Our Winter Birds," by Myron H. 



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