114 



THE CONDOR 



Vol.. IX 



PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED 



A whole book devoted to a single species of 

 bird is a novelty. The idea might not prove a 

 success in very many cases; but it certainly 

 does in the present instance. Readable thru- 

 out is Mershon's The Passenger Pigeoni. 

 Even of absorbing interest are the historical 

 accounts of the vast flights and nestings of the 

 bird. The author's own boyhood experiences 

 are incorporated and there is some other pre- 

 viously unpublished material. But the book is 

 avowedly, and of necessity, a compilation. In 

 the one volume we find brought together prac. 

 tically all that has been recorded concerning 

 the Passenger Pigeon. 



It was soon after the year 1880 that the 

 species, existing previously in millions, largely 

 disappeared; and since 1886 has it only occas- 

 ionally been noted. A few evidently still in- 

 habit the states of Illinois, Michigan and Wis- 

 consin; and a "large flock" is said to have been 

 seen in Greene County, New York, in April, 

 1 906. 



"Many theories have been advanced to ac- 

 count for the disappearance of the wild 

 pigeons, among them that their migration may 

 have been overwhelmed by some cyclonic dis- 

 turbance of the atmosphere which destroyed 

 their myriads at one blow. The big 'nesting' 

 of 1878 in Michigan was undoubtedly the last 

 large migration, but the pigeons continued to 

 nest in Michigan and the North for several 

 years after that * * * . Therefore the 

 pigeons did not become extinct in a day * * *. 

 The cutting off of the forests and food supply 

 interfered with their plan of existence and 

 drove them into new localities, and the ever 

 increasing slaughter could not help but lessen 

 their once vast numbers." 



If space permitted we could quote selected 

 pages of interesting accounts of habits, food, 

 methods of netting, shooting and marketing; 

 but we must only refer our readers to the book 

 itself. An attractive feature are the colored 

 plates of the Passenger Pigeon by Fuertes, 

 and of the Band-tailed Pigeon by Brooks. All 

 records of the Passenger Pigeon from the 

 Rocky Mountains westward doubtless refer to 

 the Band-tailed Pigeon.— J. G. 



An ingenious and doubtless useful adjunct 

 for the aid of the amateur is Gerberding's 

 Bird Note Book 2. it is of the separate-leaf 

 style, with fillers of several sorts. One of 



I The I Passenger Pigeon | By | W. B. Mershon | 

 [Vignette] | New York | The Outing Pubhshing Com- 

 pany I 1907 (our copy received May 8)— pages i-xii, 

 1-225, q full-page plates, 3 in color. 



a Bird Note Book, for use in Identification of Wild 

 Birds as seen in their native haunts. Devised and Pub- 

 lished by Richard H. Gerberding, 1319 Waveland Ave , 

 Chicago, 111. 1906. 



these, by means of what look like short-hand 

 symbols, serves for the record of previously 

 unidentified species. Another serves for the 

 recording of subsequent field notes. — J. G. 



The Warblers of North America, by 

 Frank M. Chapman3, impresses us as a 

 worthy undertaking well carried out. It 

 seems to be above criticism from a technical 

 standpoint, and indeed its author is sufficient 

 guarantee of its accuracy. In this respect it is 

 a refreshingly trustworthy book as compared 

 with many other popular works by less experi- 

 enced ornithologists. 



There are no keys, but these are unnecessary 

 in view of the beautiful and accurate colored 

 plates. The chief distinguishing characters 

 are concisely stated for each species and sub- 

 species in their various plumages. 



While the migration data and illustrations 

 have previously appeared in Bird-Lore, much 

 of the biographical matter is wholly new. A 

 large number of observers have contributed to 

 the fund of information set forth, and this 

 cooperative feature has in this instance proven 

 very successful. Many of the MS-quoted 

 sketches of our western birds are from the pen 

 of Dr. W. K. Fisher, and a good deal is quoted 

 from various other authors as originally re. 

 corded in The Condor. 



Mr. Chapman's general discussions of the 

 Distribution of Warblers, Migration of War- 

 blers, and Mortality Among Warblers are well- 

 considered and instructive. To one statement, 

 however, we would take exception: "The 

 death-rate among North American Warblers is 

 doubtless higher than that which prevails in 

 any other family of American birds." It is 

 generally accepted as an axiom that the yearly 

 death-rate equals the birth-rate (that is, on an 

 average among all birds, for some species may 

 be increasing in numbers from year to year 

 while others are decreasing). As the Warblers 

 lay 4 or 5 eggs per year on an average, proba- 

 bly nearer the first number, certainly their 

 death-rate cannot be as great as that of the 

 Titmouse Family {Paridcc) in which 6 eggs are 

 deposited, or the Wren Family {Troglodyiidcs) 

 with 6 or 7. And how about the Kinglets, 

 Ducks, Pheasants, Grouse and Quail! 



The plan of The Warblers of North 

 America is logical, and the whole treatment 

 satisfying. The present reviewer can heartily 

 recommend the volume to amateur and ad- 

 vanced student alike. — ^J. G. 



3 The Warblers 1 of | North America | by | Frank M. 

 Chapman | with the cooperation of other ornithologists | 

 with twenty-four full-page colored plates, illustratiog | 

 every species, from drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes j 

 and Bruce Horsfall, and half-tones | of nests and eggs j 

 [Vignette] | New York I D. Appleton & Company | 1907 

 [Received April 5]— pages i-x, 1-306, plates I-XXIV 

 (colored), 12 half-tones. 



