56 



Bird - Lore 



well back among the hills. The color of 

 the back so closely resembles that of the 

 soil that the bird on its nest can only be 

 detected with difficulty." — J. T. N. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



El Hornero. — The first number of this 

 magazine of South American ornithology 

 was reviewed in Bird-Lore for May- June. 

 The second number, May, 1918, of 80 

 pages, has now come to hand. A leading 

 article in it, by Roberto Dabbene, begins 

 a review of Argentine Lariforms or Gulls, 

 etc., illustrated with excellent line draw- 

 ings of details of these birds, the present 

 number dealing with the Gulls proper 

 (Larus) . There are several local or f aunal 

 lists, especially noteworthy being one of 

 birds of northeastern Argentina. 



By way of variety are articles by Pedro 

 Serie, listing common and technical names 

 of about 150 Argentine birds, an article 

 by Anibal Cardoso, in which are repro- 

 duced figures published by early Spanish 

 pioneers of the Rhea and other species, 

 which they encountered, and a reprint of a 

 poem about the 'Hornero' by Leopoldo 

 Lugones. 



A number of pages are devoted to 

 shorter notes, especially interesting ones 

 having to do with nesting and other life- 

 histories. Here we find a full-page plate 

 of a pair of Hawks, their nest and young, 

 mounted in the National Museum of 

 Natural History at Buenos Aires, and the 

 description of a new subspecies of Bush 

 Shrike {Batara cinerea argentina), and 

 Dabbene describes the remarkable habit 

 of the Yellow-billed Teal which at times 

 lays its eggs away from water in the nest 

 of the communal Parakeet (Myiopsitta 

 monachus). — J. T. N. 



The Condor. — Despite its small size, 

 the December number of 'The Condor' 

 has rather varied contents and includes 

 two general articles, four brief notes, a 

 discussion of the use of trinomials, and the 

 index of the volume. The leading article, 

 by W. C. Bradbury on the 'Nesting of the 

 Rocky Mountain Jay,' illustrated by 



eleven unusually clear cuts, is a distinct 

 contribution to the life-history of this 

 interesting bird and a fit companion- 

 piece to the account of the White-throated 

 Swift by the same author in the May 

 number. Little is really known about the 

 breeding habits of this Jay, notwithstand- 

 ing the fact that the first nests were 

 collected nearly forty years ago. Like 

 other members of its family, the bird 

 breeds early, while snow is on the ground. 

 The three nests here figured were found in 

 Grande, Saguache, and Gunnison counties, 

 on May 2, April 26, and April 21 re- 

 spectively, at altitudes varying from 

 8,600 to 10,600 feet. The Saguache 

 county set contained three eggs and the 

 others two each, all of which are figured 

 and accompanied by detailed measure- 

 ments. 



The second article contains a 'Descrip- 

 tion of a New Lanius [Lanius I. nelsoni] 

 from Lower California,' by H. C. Ober- 

 holser, based on a specimen collected by 

 E. W. Nelson and E. H. Goldman at Todos 

 Santos, December 26, 1905. 



The brief notes include the record of a 

 Kaeding Petrel taken just inside the 

 southern boundary of California, thus 

 restoring the species to the state list, 

 records of the eggs of the Dwarf Cowbird 

 found in June and July, 1918, in the San 

 Bernardino Valley in ten nests of other 

 species of birds, a remarkable observation 

 of the first flight of a young Golden Eagle, 

 and miscellaneous notes on several inter- 

 esting Texas birds. 



Those who are interested in the sub- 

 species question should read Taverner's 

 communication on 'Trinomials' in reply 

 to a criticism in the July number and 

 then turn to Dwight's 'Exaltation of the 

 Subspecies' in 'The Auk' for January, 

 1904. 



Volume XX of 'The Condor' is larger 

 than its predecessor but still 10 per cent 

 smaller than the average size established 

 for several years, and 20 of the 226 pages 

 are necessarily devoted to the index and 

 list of members. We hope that next year 

 conditions will be favorable for the publica- 

 tion of a volume of normal size — T. S. P. 



