312 



Bird - Lore 



The method approved by the A. O. U in 

 its last 'Check-List,' and indeed by 

 advanced systematists generally, while 

 cumbersome, is logical; but its true 

 significance is lost if it be not employed 

 consistently. — F. M. C. 



Woodpeckers in Relation to Trees 

 AND Wood Products. By W. L. Mc- 

 Atee. Bull. No. 39, Biological Survey, 

 September 26, 1911; 100 pp.; xii plls.; 

 44 text cuts. 



This paper is an admirable exposition 

 of modern methods of research in eco- 

 nomic ornithology. It contains a vast 

 amount of data, with pertinent illustra- 

 tions, and the conclusions reached seem 

 to be based on an impartial consider- 

 ation of the evidence presented. 



Woodpeckers, other than Sapsuckers, 

 have been found to injure trees, telephone 

 and telegraph poles, and wooden buildings 

 to a small extent. "To minimize this dam- 

 age," Mr. McAtee recommends the trial 

 of nesting-boxes (like the Berlepsch boxes) 

 especially designed for Woodpeckers, 

 since, on the whole, these birds are "chiefly 

 beneficial." 



Sapsuckers (genus Sphyrapicus), on 

 the other hand, are declared to cause an 

 annual loss to our timber interests of at 

 least $1,250,000. The facts on which 

 this estimate is based are given at length, 

 and they seem to warrant the verdict of 

 guilty" which Mr. McAtee renders. 



We have become so accustomed to 

 using the publications of the Biological 

 Survey as arguments in proof of the 

 economic value of birds that it comes 

 somewhat as a shock to find a native bird 

 condemned to death on such high author- 

 ity. On purely economic, logical grounds, 

 however, we should accept this verdict 

 as we have received and endorsed those 

 which have demonstrated the value 

 rather than the harmfulness of birds. — 

 F. M. C. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Auk. — The July issue opens with 

 a paper on the 'Distribution of the 

 Mockingbird in California,' by Mr. 



Joseph Grinnell. Much useful informa- 

 tion is compressed into a few pages, and 

 a map shows at a glance the areas in- 

 habited by the bird. The map is reduced 

 to the wrong size for binding conveniently, 

 and binders should be cautioned. Mr. 

 O. Widmann contributes a 'List of Birds 

 Observed in Estes Park, Colorado, from 

 June 10 to July 18, 1910.' — 90 species 

 well annotated, but no vernacular names 

 are given, a practice that should be con- 

 fined to highly technical papers, because 

 the rank and file of readers obtain from 

 the vernacular at least a working clue 

 as to what they are reading. 



A good deal of original observation will 

 be found in Mr. J. C. Phillips' 'Two 

 Unusual Flights of Canada Geese Noted 

 in Mass. During the Fall of 1910,' in Mr. 

 A. A. Saunders' 'A Study of the Nesting 

 of the Cedar Waxwing,' in Messrs. P. 

 A. Taverner and B. H. Swales' 'Notes 

 on the Migration of the Saw-whet Owl,' 

 and in Dr. C. W. Townsend's 'The Court- 

 ship and Migration of the Red-breasted 

 Merganser (Mergus serrator) . ' Such field 

 observations are of great value in these 

 days, when the novice is inclined to 

 believe that there is nothing left for him 

 to do. 



A contribution of interest to entomolo- 

 gists especially is one by Mr. H. E. Ewing 

 on 'The English Sparrow as an Agent 

 in the Dissemination of Chicken and Bird 

 Mites.' Mr. A. H. Wright has delved into 

 many old volumes, and from them has 

 extracted 'Other Early Records of the 

 Passenger Pigeon,' a vanished species that 

 has always been more or less in the public 

 eye in by-gone days. The numerous notes 

 and reviews claim serious attention and 

 are of a most varied character. 



The October number of 'The Auk' com- 

 pletes Mr. A. H. Wright's 'Other Records 

 of the Passenger Pigeon,' and also con- 

 tains aviary observations upon birds of 

 this species, by Mr. W. Craig, the title 

 being 'The Expressions of Emotion in 

 th^Pigeons, III, The Passenger Pigeon 

 {Ectopisles migratorius Linn.).' Mr. Craig 

 says that "science has not yet reached 

 the point where it can well understand 



