16 T BoE. A UD U BYOUNe BU UD eee 
food, behavior, voice, enemies, field marks, and distribution. This work, by 
one of our leading ornithologists, was indeed a major ornithological con- 
tribution and is today a must for the field ornithologist. 
The volumes here reviewed include a selection of excerpts from the origi- 
nals and portray Bent’s writings and thoughts or, in some instances, those 
of his day. Although the complete life cycle is not condensed for each 
species, certain portions are well chosen as excerpts to familiarize the 
student with some aspects, e.g., voculatory behavior of the Upland Plover, 
description of breeding colonies of Laughing Gulls, courtship flight of the 
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, conservation trends, etc. A bibliography is con- 
tained in volume two. 
The editor states that the volumes are for the field man and the student 
of birds to use as a supplement to the standard field guides. The passages 
will indeed enhance the impressions of the amateur birder. It is worth- 
while to have even a limited amount of information at your fingertips for 
each species of bird breeding north of Mexico in North America. It would 
seem even more valuable, however, to have two condensed volumes of per- 
tinent information regarding the life cycles of North American birds, 
e.g., clutch size, incubation periods, care of young, etc., for use by the field 
ornithologist. 
William E. Southern, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill. 
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Publication Received 
WINTER FOODS OF THE BOBWHITE IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS, by Edward J. 
Larimer, presently Biologist, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commis- 
sion. “Biological Notes No. 42” of the State Natural History Survey Di- 
vision, Urbana, Illinois. May, 1960; 84x11; 36 pp., 8 illust., 4 tables. 
Single copies free upon request to the State Natural History Survey. 
The author reports his detailed analyses of the crops of 4,606 Bobwhites 
contributed by hunters in the 34 southernmost counties of Illinois during 
the hunting season of 1950-51. This paper is the result of a cooperative re- 
search study by the Natural History Survey and Southern Illinois Univer- 
sity. Tables cover kinds of food eaten, volumes of each type, and frequency 
of occurrence of the various foods. In winter Bobwhites live principally on 
corn, 27.79% ; soybeans, 22.43% ; lespedezas, 8.66%; acorns, 7.19%; wheat, 
5.45%; ragweed, 4.58%; sassafras, 3.80%; desmodium, 2.94%; slugs, 
2.81% ; and the remainder, weed seeds and insects. It is surprising that the 
Bobwhite is so largely dependent on agricultural crops and so little on 
“natural” foods in the winter. This booklet is another fine contribution to 
our knowledge of the habits and food requirements of Illinois game birds. 
Paul H. Lobik, 22W681 Tamarack Drive, Glen Ellyn, Til. 
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