Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. 



41 



The White-throated Sparrow, 



CONTINUED. 



June, though the duties of incubation are 

 not generally performed before June 

 twentieth. The nest, an inartistic, but 

 bulky, sparrow-like structure, is, so far as 

 I can learn, awlays placed in a bush from 

 six inches to five feet from the ground. 



This bird is one of our sweetest singers, 

 and cannot fail to attract the attention of 

 anyone interested in bird melody. It is 

 also a handsome species when arrayed in 

 complete vernal attire, and, taken alto- 

 gether, is one of our most pleasing; Spar- 

 rows.* The name suggests the mark of 

 identity, and this patch will distinguish it 

 from all others, even to the novice. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



MAGAZINE ARTICLES. 



Autumn Birds of New England. By Wm. E. Crane. 

 (In New England Magazine for October.) 



A very good article, written in a popular style, and 

 illustrated by several cuts of varying excellence. Several 

 slight inaccuracies occur, as the author in referring to 

 the migration of warblers, saying, "... .they spend a 

 few hours breakfasting. .. .then rising in the air again 

 .... they continue their course towards the tropics. ' ' It 

 is a well known fact that warblers migrate almost entirely 

 by night; spending the days — unless it be very cloudy — in 

 the treetops. The article contains much that is of value 

 to the class for which it was written, the non-birdstudy- 

 ing public. — W. E. M. 



A Bird" 1 s Egg. By Ernest Ingersoll. 



(In Harper's Monthly for December.) 



An excellent article of largely theoretical character. 

 After informing us of the composition of an egg, the 

 stages it passes through, and the relation of its shape to 

 the nesting place, the author gives us the law, "that the 

 nest complement of eggs of any bird is in exact proportion 

 to the average danger to which that species is exposed '/' ' 

 illustrating this point to some length. He also disbe- 

 lieves the statement that eggs are examples ot protective 

 coloration, brought about by natural selection, and sug- 

 gests that perhaps the different colors are to enable the 

 parent in distinguishing her eggs from those of other birds. 



The four colored plates which illustrate the article are 

 not especially good (compared with the present American 

 standard, Maj. Bendire's "Life Histories of North 

 American Birds"). There is a great deal in the article 

 of value, especially to the philosophic ornithologist.- 



W. E. M. 



PERIODICALS. 



The Osprey. The Osprey Company, 141 East 25th 

 St. , New York City. Monthly. $1.00 per year. 



The Osprey needs no recommendation to most ornith- 

 ologists, but as there may be some reader of this column 

 who has not had the privilege of looking .over its neat 

 and instructive pages, we would say that it is one of 

 the best bird monthlies in America. Taken as a whole, 

 only pleasant words can be said of it, although once 

 in awhile something creeps in which might better have 

 been omitted. Dr. Coues is associated with Mr. Johnson 



in its production, and since his advent we notice that 

 errors and poor articles are rapidly disappearing. It 

 should be on the subscription list of every active 

 ornithologist. 



Vol. 2, No. 2. October, 1897. 



This number, besides several of varying value, con- 

 tains two articles requiring especial mention; one, "The 

 Sage Grouse," by D. W. Huntington, the other, Dr. 

 Coues' reply to Mr. Manly Hardy's criticism printed in 

 the May Nidologist. The former is an excellent account 

 of the habits of the Sage Grouse from the hunter's point 

 of view; of the latter we hesitate to pass an opinion. 

 As a general thing, we think discussions, other than 

 friendly ones, might better be left out of a paper of this 

 kind, but Dr. Coues' batch of letters gives us such an 

 insight into the character of two prominent bird men of 

 the past, that, were it not for a few caustic ink drops 

 which fell from the author's pen while copying them, 

 we would have only words of praise to speak of it. 



Beside the articles, Ihis issue contains many notes of 

 interest, especially those under the "California Depart- 

 ment," and several good illustrations. 



Vol. 2, No. 3. November, 1897. 



As one throws open the cover of this issue a fac-simile 

 letter draws his attention, and a closer examination 

 causes thrills to run over his body, similar to those he 

 experiences when he finds a rare nest or bird, for the 

 letter is addressed to Charles Bonaparte and signed by 

 John T. Audubon. Turning another page we find our- 

 selves face to face with Daniel G. Elliott, one of the best 

 known of American ornithologists. The article 



which accompanies this cut, "Some Birds of the 

 Dark Continent," is one of the best that has ever 

 appeared in the Osprey" 1 s columns. It is illustrated by 

 three good half tones (from life). The other long article 

 of the issue, "Birds of the San Bernardino Mountains," 

 by F. T. Illingworth, contains many interesting facts, 

 but the pleasure of reading these is somewhat lessened 

 by its being composed of a series of short sentences, 

 which gives it a disjointed effect and jars upon the 

 reader's rhetorical nerves. The "General Notes" are 

 numerous and of a good quality. 



Vol. 2, No. 4. 



Contains several excellent articles, which lack of space 

 prevents our mentioning further. Several good half 

 tones, notably, "The American Museum of Natural 

 History," "Nest of the Olive-sided Flycatcher," and 

 "Labrador Duck, "serve to beautify the paper. — W. E. M. 



The Plant World. Willard N. Clute & Co. , Bing- 

 hamton, N. Y. Monthly. $1.00 per year. 



• While this paper is not of especial interest to ornithol- 

 ogists, still we cannot let an opportunity pass for speak- 

 ing a good word for it. It is destined to occupy much 

 the same place in botany that the Osprey does and the 

 Nidologist did, in ornithology. 



Vol. 1, No. 2. November, 1897. 



This issue is of sixteen pages, which are filled with 

 interesting articles. A photo of Amos Eaton, an early 

 American botanist, is given as a frontispiece. No one 

 with leanings towards botany should fail to subscribe to 

 this paper. — W. E. M. 



The Museum. Walter F. Webb, Albion, N. Y. 

 Monthly. $1.00 per year. 



A fair proportion of this magazine is devoted to ornith- 

 ology, and occasionally the articles are of much value. 

 W T e would suggest that the ornithological portion of the 

 paper be made more original; there surely must be 

 enough good articles to be had for the asking. 



