PACIFIC COAST CHANGES IN THE CHECK-LIST.
The tenth supplement to the A. O. U. CheckList contains additions of especial interest to Coast workers. These were acted upon at the recent session of the A. O. U. Committee on Nomenclature, and a list of the accepted forms occurring on the Pacific Coast is here given.
Ardea herodias fannini CHAPMAN, Northwest Coast Heron, Queen Charlotte Ids. and coast region of British Columbia; Carachiles canadensis osgoodi BISHOP, Alaska Spruce Grouse, Upper Yukon region and thence northwest to Prince William Sound and Cook lnlet; Zagopus leucurus altipelen OsgooD, South- ern White-tailed Ptarmigan, Southern Rocky Mrs., (Colorado, New Mexico etc.); Empidonaa: insulicola OBERI-IOLSER, Santa Barbara Fly- catcher, Santa Barbara Ids., Cal.; Perisoreus obscurus xriseus RiD(gw., Gray Jay, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and northern California east of the Coast and Cascade Ranges; Mmmodramus rostratus halophilus (McGE(gOR), Lagoon Sparrow, Salt marshes in the vicinity of Abreojos Point, Lower Cali- lbrnia; Pipilo maculalus alralus RIDGW., San Diego Towhee, Southern coast district of California, south of San Fernando and Sierra San Gabriel, and south to Lower California; Pipilo fuscus carolde McGE(gOR, Northern Brown Towbee, Northwestern California; Dendroica nirifrons Bxvs'E, Black- fronted Warbler, Sierra Madre of Chihuahua, Mexico north to the Huachnca and Chiricahua Mrs., Arizona; Geolhlypis lrichas arizela OBERH. Pacific Coast region, from Southern British Columbia to northern Lower California, west of the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas; Thryomanes bewickii charienturus OERH., Coast region of Southern California uorth to about Pasadena; Santa Catalina Island; Thryomanes bewickii calophonus OEH., Pacific slope, from Oregon to southern Van- couver Island and valley of Fraser River, British Columbia; Mnorthura hiemalls helleri OS(gOOD, Kadiak Winter Wren, Kadiak Island Alaska; ,tnorthura meliera OBERI-I., Aleutian Wren, The westermost islands of the Aleutian group, Alaska; Cerlhia familiaris zeloles OS(gOOD, Sierra Creeper, Cascade Mountains of Oregon and the Sierra Nevada of California; Chamwafasciala phwa Os(gooD, Coast Wren-Tit, Coast region of Oregon and California from Astoria, Oregon to Marin Co. California; ??eulus calendula grinnelli W. PALMER, Sitkan Kinglet, Sitka district, Alaska; ]-Iylocichla uslulala alma? OBERH, Alma's Thrush, Yukon Basin, south to the Rocky Mountains region, and west to Utah and eastern Nevada. The following changes are also of interest: Our Colaptes cafer becomes 6blapte3 caret col/aris, the former being restricted to Mexico; .$yornis nigricans semiatra is assigned to the Coast as follows: "Pacific Coast of the United States and Mexico, from Oregon to Colima, eastward to Arizona"; Zonotrichia leucophrl,s intermedia becomes Zonotrichia 1. xambellii, while the former Zonotrichia leucophrys .ffambe/lii is changed to Zonotrichia l. nullalii. COMMUNICATIONS. A BOON FOR OOLOGISTS. Editor CO*DOR :-- A saturated solution of cooking soda is quite effective for removing embryos. As an illus- tration of its work, last night at 6 P. a. I found a Black-throated Gray Warbler's nest with four eggs, certainly not less than three- fourths incubated, the shell being so soft that the drill sank into it. I put in as much soda as the eggs would hold and changed it once during the evening. This morning they were reasonably easily blown before 8 A.M., two perfect specimens, the holes being not much larger than for fresh eggs; the other two have a small nick in each hole but are perfectly strong. The embryo was shaved off with a sharp knife as it was forced out. It was equally successful on Northwest Crow .-5, California Jay x-6 and Oregon Junco . It is probably too late for many to try it this year, but possibly you can test it. The principal advantage over other chemicals is that it does the work quickly. CHAS. W. BOrI, ES. lt/aldo, Ore.yon, June/5, o. [We were happily enabled to test Mr. Bowles' process on a badly incubated set of Calaveras Warbler, the results being a pleasant surprise. By blowing out the softer parts of the embryos and filling the eggs with a satu- rated solution of soda, all blew readily on the following morning. As Mr. Bowles points out, the merit of using soda is in its quick results, thus enabling one to blow the egg be- fore the shell bas softened.--ED:] USE OF COLLODION TO PREVENT AR- SENICAL POISONING Editor THE CONDOR:-- All ornithologists are aware that there is more or less danger in the handling of arsenic in preparing specimens. If a small particle finds lodgmeut in a cut, a sore is the result. Painting the cut and aronnd the finger nails with collodion before using arsenic prevents all this. It forms a smooth coating, and used in that way is harmless, clean and leaves no stain. }rl Collins, Colo. W.L. BURNETT.
