THE OOLOGIST. 



197 



of those ill the cabinet of the author. 

 It sliould ])o uiulei-stood that though 

 this is merely a new edition of a work 

 ah'eady liaving a good reputation 

 among seientilic men, it is luueh Uirger 

 and more complete than ever before. 

 Nothing could be better to encourage 

 tliorongliness in students and aid all 

 collectors te identify specimens. To 

 facilitat(^ practical ust^ a full alphabeti- 

 cal index is added, not only of the 

 leading name by which the bird is com- 

 monly known, but with all the common 

 names mentioned in the text. A page 

 or two of directions for collecting and 

 pi'cserving bii'ds' nests and eggs will be 

 found vei-y useful to many beginners in 

 this' delightful occupation of a collector. 

 We might quote from any page and in- 

 terest tmv readers in the facts so clearly 

 and succinctly stated. Many curious 

 and interesting facts are noted concern- 

 ing birds more or less familiar, but to 

 A\diom the general reader had never 

 applied the scientific methods of obser- 

 A'ation and investigation, illustrated in 

 this l)ook. No section of our country 

 has been neglected. The birds of Ari- 

 zona are apparently as fully described 

 as those of Ohio. Where on every page 

 there is so much of value, it is ditftcult 

 to select. Among the more elaborate 

 and interesting articles, we may cite 

 the folhnving: 



Ki'own Thrasher, the common Blue- 

 bird, Amei'ican Magpie, American Ear- 

 ed Grebe, (Ireat Auk, Great Horned 

 Owl, Burrowing Owl, Red-headed 

 Woodpecker, Parula Warbler, Oven- 

 bird, Bryant's Marsh Sparrow, Cowbird, 

 Chimney Swift, Swallow-tailed Kite, 

 Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Red- 

 t died Hawk, Red-shf)uldered Hawk, 

 Swainson's Hawk, Duck Hawk, etc., 

 etc. 



We know of one young collector who 

 has identitied the Oven-bird bj' the de- 

 scription on page 378. 



The print is large and clear. The 

 Avork is generous nnd full in whatever 



aspect it is viewed. Thei-e are 475 

 pages of large size. We would suggest 

 that every school library in the land 

 should possess a bound copy of this 

 work, and that every boy or girl who 

 has a taste for ornithology, be provided 

 with at least a paper edition if not Ihnt 

 in cloth. 



The Black Tern. 



This is an abundant species here, ar- 

 riving during the latter part of April or 

 first of May, when they may be seen in 

 considerable numbers and picking up the 

 grubs of which they are very fond. Thej' 

 can be easily caught in steel traps by put- 

 ting a grnl) on the panel of the trap and 

 setting it on a newly plowed furrow. 

 One will come along and when it sees 

 the worm it will balance itself over tJu; 

 trap and make a dive for the tempting- 

 morsel, but it finds that it is not as easy 

 to rise as it was to drop, and so it stays 

 thei-e. When the other terns see that 

 one is in such a fix they hover over it 

 diving part way down and uttering 

 cries of distress until frightened away. 

 But they will not take warning by its 

 fate and the trap is set in the same way 

 again another will soon be caught. 

 When a little "kid" I used to amuses 

 myself liy catching them in this \\'ay, 

 and thought it great sport. 



The sloughs in this locality arc a 

 favorite nesting place. In these, on 

 decaying vegetation or on logs formed 

 by sunken muskrat houses, the nests 

 are placed and consist of small piles of 

 the decaying vegetation slightly hollow, 

 ed. The eggs are two or three in num- 

 ber, usually three. They vary from 

 brownish to greenish in color, spotted 

 and blotched with black and brown of 

 different shades. They are usually de- 

 posited about the middle of June, avei-- 

 agesize,185x98in. In some sloughs these 

 birds breed in colonies; in others only 

 one nest will be found. In tJie latter 

 case the bird constructs its own nest 

 and it is usually well built. They stay 

 here till late in the fall. 



John V. Chone, Marathon,, Iowa. 



