82 Bird - 
Tue Home-Lire oF A GOLDEN EAGLE. 
Photographed and described by H. B. 
MacpHERSON. Witherby & Co., 326 
High Holborn, London. 1909. 8vo., 45 
pages, 32 mounted half-tones. Price 5 
shillings. 
This is an ideal demonstration of the 
possibilities of modern methods of bird 
study with a camera, in which, prompted 
primarily by the desire to get pictures, the 
author built a blind of rocks, turf and 
heather near a Golden Eagle’s eyrie, and 
from this shelter studied and photographed 
the birds during the eleven weeks their off- 
spring was in the nest. More than a thou- 
sand miles were traveled in going to and 
from the nest, and often the bitter cold and 
driving storms which prevailed in the 
Grampian mountains (where, at an alti- 
tude of nearly 3,000 feet, the birds had 
made their home), during the season in 
question, would have dismayed almost any 
one but a genuine bird photographer. 
We cannot present here even a résumé 
of the interesting facts discovered and 
recorded by Mr. Macpherson, but we un- 
reservedly commend his essay as one of 
the most fascinating chapters in bird-life 
with which we are familiar, and quite 
worthy of comparison with Mr. Finley’s 
study of the California Condor.—F. M. C. 
FAUNA OF New EncianpD II. List of the 
Aves. By GLovER M. ALLEN. Occa- 
sional Papers of the Boston Society of 
Natural History, June, 1909. 8vo., 230 
pages. 
Thanks to the admirable method of pre- 
sentation devised by Dr. Allen, we have 
here not only an annotated list of the birds 
of New England but also annotated lists 
of the birds of each of the New England 
states. After a tabular check-list of New 
England birds, in which the presence or 
absence of each species in each state, as 
well as in the collection of the Boston So- 
ciety of Natural History, is indicated, 
Lore 
the 4o2 species admitted to the New Eng- 
land list are treated formally, under each 
being given (1) the A. O. U. scientific name 
(2) the A. O. U. common name followed 
by other vernacular names used in New 
England, (3) reference to the original 
place of description with the type locality, 
(4) reference to a colored figure of the bird 
and its egg, when existing, (5) character 
of haunts, (6) state headings with status, 
manner of occurrence, dates of migration 
and egg-laying of migrant and breeding 
species. In conclusion, there is a list of 
‘Species Introduced or Erroneously Ac- 
credited. ’ 
In view of the surprisingly large amount 
of information which Dr. Allen has suc- 
ceeded in crowding into a limited space, 
it may seem ungracious to ask for more; but 
since the plan adopted evidently omits 
references to the sources whence his local 
data were obtained, would it not have 
been well to give, in a bibliographical ap- 
pendix, titles of at least the lists of birds 
relating to the states contained in the region 
in question ?—F. M. C. 
THE PURPLE MarTIN AND HOUSES FOR 
Its SummER Home. By J. WARREN 
Jacops. Gleanings No. 5, pages 1-45; 
First Supplement, pages 46-56. Numer- 
ous illustrations. Waynesburg, Pa. 
Mr. Jacobs may claim to be our leading 
authority on the ways and wants of the 
Purple Martin. His ‘Story of a Martin 
Colony’ (Gleanings No. 2) was an admi- 
rable contribution to the life history of that 
bird, and he here treats at length of a more 
practical side of the subject, namely, the 
construction of Martin houses and estab- 
lishing of Martin colonies. Warious cor- 
respondents contribute their experiences 
in inviting Martins to occupy houses built 
by Mr. Jacobs, and both pamphlets con- 
tain much of value and interest to those 
who would bring ‘these delightful birds 
about their homes —F. M. C. 
