July, 1907 



PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED 



115 



In December last, appeared the concluding 

 number of The Warbler, published and 

 edited by Mr. John Lewis Childs at 

 Floral Park, New York. It had been hoped 

 that increasing support would have warranted 

 the continuance of this magazine indefinitely. 

 But unfortunately, as announced by its Editor 

 in the last issue, subscriptions had amounted 

 to less than ten per cent of the cost of main- 

 taining the magazine. This is, of course, de- 

 plorable. But the same has been true of most 

 other bird periodicals, and the few that persist 

 owe their support to other means than that 

 afforded by subscriptions alone. 



The features of The Warbler, as originally 

 intended, were the publication of strictly 

 original matter pertaining to the rarer North 

 American birds, and, to accompany these, 

 colored plates of previously unfigured nests and 

 eggs. These features are commendably main- 

 tained thruout the two complete volumes of 

 the magazine which appeared. In spite of its 

 having lived so brief a time, the two volumes 

 are sure to become in greater and greater de- 

 mand wherever ornithological libraries are 

 forming. No student can overlook the records 

 and descriptions therein contained. 



The Warbler ("Second Series," tho the 

 first series seems to have been so unimportant 

 as to have attracted little attention) ran thru 

 1905 and 1906, a volume to each year, and 

 four numbers to each volume. Its appearance 

 was somewhat irregular, tho it generally came 

 out in March, June, September and December 

 of each year. Volume I contained 128 pages, 8 

 colored plates, and 32 half-tone illustrations. 

 Volume II contained 108 pages, 4 colored plates 

 and 13 half-tone illustrations. 



It is the purpose of the present reviewer to 

 call attention only to the strictly Western 

 material which found record in this periodical. 

 In Number i of Volume I appears a colored 

 plate of three eggs of the Olive Warbler 

 {Dendroica olivacea) collected bj^ O. W. How- 

 ard in the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona. 

 The plate is accompanied by brief notes (un- 

 signed, so probably editorial). In the same 

 issue is a brief account by H. R. Taylor of the 

 Alameda Song Sparrow [Melospiza cinerea 

 pusillula). In Number 2 of Volume I, John 

 Lewis Childs contributes some "California 

 Notes," which deal with the Golden Eagle 

 (nesting in San Diego County, California), 

 Western Gull, Anna Hummingbird, Califor- 

 nia Partridge, Snow Goose, and English vSpar- 

 row. In Number 3 of Volume I, P. B. Peabody 

 writes of "The Tolmie Warbler in Wyoming," 

 illustrated with a halftone of a nest and eggs. 

 In the same issue appears a colored plate of 

 three eggs of the Rufous-crowned Sparrow 

 {Aimophila ruficeps), accompanied by a brief 

 editorial note. This is the set taken by Bar- 



low and discribed by him in The Condor, 

 Volume IV, pages 107-111. In Number 4 of 

 Volume I of The Warbler is a colored illus- 

 tration of an egg of the Clarke Nutcracker, 

 taken by H. C. Johnson in Utah. Short (edit- 

 orial) notes are appended. In the same num- 

 ber P. B. Peabody describes the habits of ' 'The 

 Long-tailed Chickadee" as observed by him in 

 Wyoming. Two half-tones show a nesting 

 site and nest. There also appears in this issue 

 a half-tone photograph of a nest and eggs of 

 the Western Gull, taken by O. W. Howard on 

 Santa Barbara Island. 



Number i of Volume II opens with a col- 

 ored plate in part showing four eggs of the 

 Dusky Warbler {Helminthophila celata sordida) 

 on San Clemente Island, An account of 

 the taking of these is given by the collector, O. 

 W. Howard. An interesting fact discovered is 

 that this race nests high from the ground in 

 bushes or small trees and not, as with its rela- 

 tives, on the ground. In the same issue P. B. 

 Peabody describes at length the nesting of 

 "The Desert Horned Lark" in Wyoming, 

 with three half-tone illustrations; and Harry 

 H. Dunn tells about "The California Bush-Tit." 

 In Number 2 of Volume II the frontispiece col- 

 ored plate illustrates two sets of four eggs each. 

 One is of the "Santa Barbara Flycatcher {Eni- 

 pidonax ins ulico la)" ta'ken by O. W. Howard 

 on vSanta Catalina Island, with a brief explana- 

 tory note. It will, however, be remembered 

 that we hold that there is no form on the 

 Islands distinct from the ordinary Western 

 Flycatcher of the mainland. The other illus- 

 tration is of the eggs of the Gray Flycatcher 

 taken in the San Bernardino Mountains of 

 southern California. Accompanying this is an 

 extended article by Joseph Grinnell on the 

 ' 'Nesting of the Gray Flycatcher in Califor- 

 nia," accompanied by a half-tone picture of a 

 nest. In the plate caption the scientific name 

 of this species is given as ''''Empidonax griseus 

 canescens''' an impossible combination, intro- 

 duced thru error, as later acknowledged by the 

 Editor. The correct name, as we have lately 

 been informed, is not even E. canescens, but 

 Einpido7iax griseus Brewster. In the same 

 number P. B. Peabody discusses at length the 

 "Pinyon Jay" from his experiences with the 

 bird in Wyoming; 3 half-tones lend vividness 

 to the account. In Number 3 of Volume II, 

 the eggs of the Salt Marsh Yellowthroat 

 {Geoihlypis trichas si^mosa) are illustrated in 

 color, from a set taken by H. R. Taylor. P. 

 B. Peabody tells about the "Rocky Mountain 

 Nuthatch" in Wyoming, presenting four half- 

 tones of birds and nesting sites. And Harry 

 H. Dunn gives a brief account of "The Gnat- 

 catchers of Southern California." The only 

 plate in Number 4 of Volume II shows in color 

 the nest and eggs of the Blue-throated Hum- 



