RECENT BIRD BOOKS 
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Birds in a Des Moines Garden.— I had numerous Interesting experi- 
ences with birds in 11)41. My Cardinals raised six broods; there were 
15 young Cardinals and 2 Cowbirds. I saw a great flock of warblers, 
over 200 birds, in my garden on September lb; I counted 8 species. 
On the afternoon of September 21 there was a flock of over 400 birds 
in my rear garden for about 25 minutes, then they were "gone with 
the wind.” There were many warblers (4 or 5 species), Goldfinches, 
Chickadees, and others, and their warbling and twittering was very 
loud. On the morning of October 20, there was another visitation. 
This time I saw Myrtle Warblers, Goldfinches, White- throated Sparrows, 
Slate-colored Juncos, etc. They twittered for a half hour, then most 
of them disappeared.— MRS. TQNT R. WENDELBURG, Des Moines, 
Iowa. 
Fall Shore Birds of the Conesville Marsh Area, Louisa County. 
On the 20th and 21st of September, 11)41, many shore birds were ob- 
served on the shallow lakes of the Conesvflle Marsh in Louisa County. 
Iowa— perhaps the largest number that there has been in the fall for 
the last few years. The Greater and Lesser Yellow-legs were partic- 
ularly abundant. Many Semi pal mated and Least Sandpipers were seen. 
Of particular interest were a flock of 4 Golden Plovers, a flock of 6 
Long-billed Dowitchers, and 2 Stilt Sandpipers. Due to the fall plum- 
age, many species could not be identified because of the distance at 
which they were observed; but the above observations were made at 
close range and identifications were positive. 
This is the first time I have noted the Stilt Sandpiper in this area, 
and the second occasion when we have had Long-billed Dowitchers in 
the fall. Many ducks, the most common being the Blue- winged Teal 
and the Pin-tail had arrived in this area in considerable by September 
2d, 1941. However, no specimens of Wood Ducks had been noted at 
that date; this was very out of the ordinary, as at that season of the 
year it is usual to have them in extremely large numbers. The year 
1941 was especially good for the American Egret, and in this area 
flocks of fi to ID were common from the first part of August. — JACK 
WARREN MUSGROVE, Museum Director, State Historical Museum. 
Des Moines, Iowa. 
RECENT BIRD BOOKS 
THE BIRDS OF AMERICA, by John James Audubon: with a fore- 
word and descriptive captions by Wm, Vogt (Macmillan Company. New 
York City, 1941; Imperial Ed., cloth, frontispiece & 435 colored plates 
+ 26 pp. ; price, $4.95), 
Four years ago the Macmillan Company published the set of 500 
Audubon bird paintings in an edition which sold for $12.50 (reviewed 
in Towa Bird Life' for 1937. pp. 54-55). That printing was the first 
set of Audubon published since the last century, and it was a full 
hundred years after the publication of the original "Elephant Folio" 
of Audubon’s bird paintings. The Macmillan Company states that they 
did not expect the book to have sufficient popular appeal ever to war- 
rant another printing. Yet the demand has been insistent and con- 
tinued, which bespeaks the never-dying popularity of the great bird 
artist as well as the universal interest in the subjects which he so deftly 
depicted with his brush. The new Imperial Edition of 50,000 copies 
of the ‘Birds of America’ plates was made available in October of 
this year. Due to the great cost of producing the color engravings, 
the 1937 printing was a publishing venture of the first magnitude. 
Since this expense has been absorbed, the present book can be sold 
for less than half of the price of the former edition. It thus should 
reach many persons who did not feel able to purchase the more ex- 
pensive book. 
Although printed from the same plates as the 1937 edition, it is 
