Book News and Reviews 



117 



young from various causes, the species as 

 a whole thrives and increases. Probably 

 its worst enemy is the English Sparrow 

 which, according to our author, is held 

 responsible for sixteen per cent of the 

 mortality. 



Among 'Eighteen Species of Birds New 

 to the Pribilof Islands,' recorded by Prof. 

 B. W. Evermann, four are new to the 

 North American list. Mr. W. S. Brooks, 

 at p. no, also records a species new to the 

 list, viz., the Bahama Duck {Pcecilonetta 

 bahamensis). 



Under the title 'An Essex County 

 [Mass.] Ornithologist,' Dr. G. M. Allen 

 publishes much of interest from the note- 

 books of the late Benj. F. Damsell, an 

 ornithologist who for upward ot thirty 

 years hid his light under a bushel. Dr. 

 F. Overton and Mr. F. Harper are pioneers 

 in 'Bird Photography by the Direct 

 Color Process,' and praise the autochrome 

 plate and its possibilities. Miss A. R. 

 Sherman contributes notes on the 'Caro- 

 linia Avi-fauna in Northeastern Illinois.' 



Mr. G. M. Mathews, in writing 'On the 

 Generic names Ibis and Egatheiis,' dis- 

 places Ibis in part. Another partial dis- 

 location to shock the rank and file of 

 ornithologists! To get to enjoy these 

 nomenclatural niceties is much like culti- 

 vating a taste for caviar. 



The controversy over concealing and 

 protective coloration is continued by Mr. 

 T. Barbour in 'A Different Aspect of the 

 case of Roosevelt vs. Thayer.' Contro- 

 versies of this sort are often good reading, 

 but they never settle anything. See, also, 

 Mr. F. M. Chapman's letter at p. 147. 



Mr. John Sage's annual report as Secre- 

 tary shows the A. O. U. to be flourishing, 

 and the Reviews show what an immense 

 amount of activity there is in the orni- 

 thological world. The Correspondence 

 department covers several pages, includ- 

 ing strictures on the 'Check List' by 

 Dr. L. B. Bishop, and various other items 

 of interest may be found here and in other 

 sections. — J. D. Jr. 



The Condor. — The November number 

 of 'The Condor' contains four general 



articles. In a 'Study of the Eggs of the 

 Meleagridae,' Dr. Shufeldt shows the wide 

 variation in color and markings in the 

 eggs of the common Wild Turkey, and 

 refers briefly to the characters of size and 

 markings in those of other forms. Willard 

 contributes a description of the 'Nesting 

 of the Rocky Mountain Nuthatch' in the 

 Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, illustrated 

 with two fine photographs of the nesting 

 cavity and the eggs. He notes that a 

 cavity with a long, narrow opening in an 

 oak is usually selected, and the nest is 

 composed of skunk and squirrel fur and 

 cow and deer hair. The eggs ordinarily 

 five in number, but sometimes three and 

 occasionally as many as six, are usually 

 deposited during the last week in April or 

 in early May. 



In 'A Horseback Trip across Montana,' 

 Saunders gives an interesting running 

 account of the birds observed each day 

 from July 10 to 16, 191 1, during a journey 

 from Bozeman to Chouteau. The paper 

 is more readable than it could be if it were 

 presented in the usual form of a list of 

 species, but the valuable notes which it 

 contains may not be cited by some authors 

 because of the omission of scientific names. 



Mrs. Myers' description of the 'Nest- 

 ing Habits of the Western Bluebird' is 

 based on observations of a pair of Blue- 

 birds which bred in April, 1910, in Syca- 

 more Grove, one of the city parks on the 

 outskirts of Los Angeles. 



Mention should also be made of the 

 recommendations recently submitted by 

 the Conservation Committee of the Cooper 

 Ornithological Club to the Fish and Game 

 Commission for the amendment of the 

 California game laws. The recommenda- 

 tions include closing the season indefinitely 

 on the Red-head and Wood Duck, pro- 

 tection of the Band-tailed Pigeon, and 

 removal of the Mourning Dove, Rail, Ibis, 

 and all shore-birds, except Wilson's 

 Snipe, from the list of game-birds. The 

 number concludes with a general Index to 

 the volume for 19 12, which, with the 

 exception of that for 190S, is the largest 

 volume thus far published in the series. — 

 T. S. P. 



