Jan., 191, 
PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED 
45 
of strong emphasis in such a paper; namely, 
the fact that locality and numbers of individ- 
uals have a great deal to do with the amount of 
damage done. In some parts of the United 
States sapsuckers are of such rare occurrence 
that the placing of the birds on the blacklist 
would be foolish indeed. As the study of 
economic ornithology progresses it will be 
seen more and more clearly that whereas a 
bird may be a pest in certain localities due to 
certain local conditions, yet in other localities 
the same bird may be a decided benefit or at 
least of neutral value. There is no intention 
of defending sapsuckers as a class, for we 
agree with Mr. McAtee that the sapsucker 
“must be inchided in the class of injurious 
species, the destruction of which when caught 
redhanded is justifiable”; but “circumstances 
alter cases” and this view is important. 
The bibliography is a welcome addition in 
this publication of the Biological Survey. To 
the average farmer this means nothing, but 
to the scientific student it adds greatly to the 
value of the paper. The incorporation of reli- 
able data by other workers in the field adds 
much to this type of publication. It is a pleas- 
ure to note also the elaborate set of plates and 
figures. To the men for whom these publi- 
cations are intended such illustrations mean 
much more than the printed data. — H. C. 
Bryant. 
A Monograph of the Broad-winged 
Hawk {Buteo platypteriis) by Frank L. Burns 
[=The Wilson Bulletin xxiii, 1911, nos. .3 and 
4, pp. 143-320, 10 pis.]. 
The scope of this work is perhaps best 
indicated by a recapitulation of the different 
heads under which the subject is treated, 
which, in order of succession, are as follows; 
Diagnosis of genus, distinguishing specific 
characters, description and measurements, sy- 
nonymy, geographical distribution, flight, food, 
voice, enemies, disposition in the presence of 
other birds, disposition in the presence of 
man, disposition in captivity, migration, sta- 
tion, mating, nidification, incubation, young, 
molt and renewal, bibliography. 
The assemblage of the mass of data here 
presented is evidently the result of a large 
amount of painstaking labor. Besides being a 
compilation of previously published literature 
on the subject, the paper contains much new 
and unpublished material, the many manuscript 
records in the details regarding distribution, 
and the careful accounts of the molt, actions 
and habits of young birds raised in captivity, 
being particularly noticeable. The illustra- 
tions are excellent and well chosen, figuring 
young birds, immatures, and adults, eggs and 
nests. 
It is, therefore, an important contribution 
to our knowledge of the species, and a praise- 
worthy effort at condensing and making access- 
ible the widely scattered information dealing 
with the subject. In spite of its general ex- 
cellence, however, there are a few points which 
the reviewer (possessing a very limited knowl- 
edge of the species dealt with) feels could have 
been made more clear and explicit. Thus 
while in the definition of its geographical dis- 
tribution, the southern limit in summer is 
given as from Florida to centra! Texas (page 
170), farther on, under “nidification” (page 
248) there is mention of the character of nests 
found in Central America, leaving the reader 
in doubt as to whether the species occurs there 
in summer, or breeds in winter. Then in the 
treatment of the Cuban bird, a new name is 
offered for the subspecies, Buieo platypteriis 
cubanensis, but in an exceedingly casual man- 
ner, neither a type specimen nor type locality 
being designated; also it is impossible to deter- 
mine from the text whether or not the author 
believes the bird he is naming is recognizably 
distinct. — II. S. Swarth. 
The Reeation of Birds to an Insect 
Outbreak in Northern Caeifornia during 
the spring and summer of 1911. By Haroed 
C. Bryant. (—Condor xiii, no. 6, Nov.- 
Dec., 1911, pp. 195-208, figs. 67-70). 
This is the first attempt, so far as the re- 
viewer is aware, to study the behavior of 
birds in the presence of abnormally large num- 
bers of butterflies. An idea of the immense 
numbers of these insects [Eugonia californica) 
present during the outbreak in northern Cal- 
ifornia, is given by IMr. Bryant’s statement 
that an average of 108 per minute passed be- 
tween two fir trees 20 feet high and 30 feet 
apart, and that 150 were counted on one 
square foot of ground at a drinking place. 
B'roni direct observation the author learned 
that the Brewer blackbird, the western king- 
bird and meadowlark fed upon the butterflies, 
and examination of stomachs added the Say 
phoebe and the blue-fronted jay. Both sourc- 
es of evidence pointed to the Brewer blackbird 
as the principal bird enemy of the insects, 
and flocks of this species were seen feeding 
almost exclusively upon the Eugonia. Thus 
only five species of birds out of a total of 45 
species observed, and of 21 of which stomachs 
were examined, were found feeding upon but- 
terflies under circumstances about as favorable 
for that pursuit as can be imagined. Eliminat- 
ing the smaller birds which could hardly be 
expected to prey upon Eugonia, it was found 
that the known enemies constituted only about 
a fifth of the numbers of species of the remain- 
ing larger birds. 
