I IO 
Recent Literature. 
illustrate it in the number of this Bulletin for Jluly,. 1880. The thirty 
pages of text now accompanying the plates give a detailed description 
of the osteology of the bird in question, setting forth with minuteness 
and clearness the osseus structure of this rather specialized type of the 
order Strvges. The second memoir, in a nearly equal number of pages 
and one plate, describes in a similar manner the osteology of the Horned 
Lark.* In point of detail and comparison of special points of structure 
with other forms there is little further to? be desired. The well-executed 
plates represent the skeleton of each species as a whole, and also the prin- 
cipal bones in detail. As memoirs of descriptive osteology these papers 
merit high- praise, and may well be welcomed as valuable contributions in 
a little worked field. — J. A. A. 
Forbes on the Food of Birds, Insects, and Fishes. — In the last 
number of this Bulletin we gave some account of Professor Forbes’s 
investigations of the food of various insectivorous birds, with a somewhat 
extended summary of the results attained. We have now a further report 
of his studies, f about seventy pa^es of which relate to birds. Of the 
remainder, fifteen pages are devoted to introductory remarks: on the 
general subject, forty-eight to fishes, and twelve to insects. The spe- 
cies of birds investigated are, as before, the Thrushes and the Bluebird, 
and the results given cover not only the observations previously reported 
but those of the season of 1880, the present report being based on the 
examination of more than twice the number of specimens forming the 
basis of the earlier reports. The general showing seems to be favorable 
to the Thrush family, not excepting even the Robin,, respecting which 
Professor Forbes expresses his belief that while he is too valuable to 
exterminate he is not so precious that we need to hesitate to protect our 
fruits from excessive depredation. The Bluebird, however, still mairftains 
a bad record, in consequence of its great predilection for predaceous 
insects. It is gratifying to observe that these important investigations 
are now' conducted under the authorization of the Illinois State Legisla- 
ture, and that a small appropriation ($3.50 fer annum ) is available for the 
prosecution of these researches and the publication of the results. The 
investigation of the food of predaceous insects is undertaken for the 
purpose of determining to what extent they are really beneficial, since 
some of the Carabidce are known to feed in part upon vegetable substances, 
and therefore it has its bearing upon the question of the utility of insectiv- 
orous birds. — J. A. A. 
* Osteology of Eremophila Alpestris. By R. W. Shufeldt, [First Lieutenant and] 
Assistant Surgeon, U. S. Army. Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Territories, Vol. 
VI, No. 1, Feb. 11, 1881, pp. 119-147, pi. iv. 
f Studies of the Food of Birds, Insects and Fishes, made at the Illinois State Lab- 
oratory of Natural History, at Normal, Illinois. Illinois State Laboratory of Natural 
History, Bulletin, No. 3, November, 1880, 8vo. pp., 1-160. 
