Burns—On BrOAD-WINGED HAWK. 145 
Riley, Chas. C. Richards, Chas. H. Rogers, Alfred C. Red- 
field, F. B. Spaulding, Robert P. Sharples, and Norman A. 
Wood, for long continued aid and encouragement. 1 am 
also indebted to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sci- 
ences, Mercantile and Philadelphia Libraries for many of 
my references, and to Mr. Witmer Stone for use of his files 
of periodicals. 
With a few exceptions, the method of treatment requires 
no further comment than the various sub-heads afford. 
Ridgway’s “ Nomenclature of Colors” is the standard for 
all color descriptions, and for obvious reasons the measure- 
ments of skins are given in millimetres following the Eng- 
lish inch and hundredth thereof, but for the nest and egg 
measurements, the latter is ‘employed exclusively because 
consistency requires uniformity throughout “ Nidification,” 
including distances from nest to ground. Knowing that the 
metric system is practically meaningless to the American 
oologist, it has been omitted. As far as the literature with 
its often contradictory reports can be relied upon, suppli- 
mented by the manuscript notes in which several state and 
numerous county records are for the first time recorded, both 
the past and present status of the species is indicated under 
the head of “ Geographical Distribution,’ which should be 
used in conjunction with the “ Bibliography.” The import- 
ance of the latter, if measured by the time and trouble it 
took to secure the more than seven hundred titles, is not to 
be told in words. The writer assumes the responsibility for 
the correctness of all citations not otherwise accredited. 
Palpably erroneous records are here corrected and with all 
doubtful ones, are excluded from the body of the work. In 
conclusion I would beg that my studied omission of all per- 
sonal titles which would involve tiresome repetition, should 
not be attributed to a lack of respect and civility. 
FRANK L. BuRNS. 
Berwyn, Pa., Feb. 23, 1911. 
