May, x9o4[ THE CONDOR 8i Mr. Fowler Nov. 5, I892. It is said to be a tolerably common winter resident. Passerella iliaca schistacea. A specimen has been examined which was taken by Mr. H. Kimball Nov. 20, 1894, in the Huachuca mountains. Progne subis hesperia. Purple martins were seen about the Post May 4 and again May 15, 1892. Dendroica virens. An adult male was examined which was se- cured by Mr. R. D. Lnsk in Ramsay canyon May 9, 1895. It may be stated that therecord of the house sparrow (?tsser domesticus ) in Bulletin No. I is based on an erroneous identification and should refer to the house finch (Uarpodacus me?cicanusfrontalis). 7?rdus ?utlalus auduboni and Regulus calendula breed in the Chiricahua mountains where nests were found in i894, and it is therefore probable that they will be found in some of the more inaccessible parts of the Huachueas in summer. This general area including the Huaehuea mountains and the more extensive Chirieahua range to the eastward affords one of the most in- viting fields in the United States for carrying on ornithological stndies. The presence of many Mexican species which find congenial homes in the many nmnerous canyons among the heavier timber of the upper parts, furnish a strong incentive for continued search after other rareties.-- A. K. FISHER. BIRDS OF CAI,IFORNIA, An Introduction to More than Three Hundred Common Birds of the State and Adjacent Islands with a Supplementary List of Rare Migrants, Accidental Visitants, and Hypothetical Subspecies. By IRENE C*ROSVENOR WHEELOCK. With ten fullpage plates and seventy-eight drawings in the text by Bruce Itorsfall. Chicago. A. C. McClurg & Co., 19o 4 (Feb- ruary) pp. i-xxvnl, 1-578. In this volume of 600 pages the publishers have taken much care to provide a book of pleas- ing appearance. The flexible green covers and excellent quality of paper contribute to an agree- able ease in handling. The numerous illustrations are mostly quite good for their kind. But we regret that we cannot recommend so highly the accompanying text. The many misstatements and slighter inaccuracies seem to indicate a limited knowledge of our literature, as well as an inadequate personal acquaintance with many of the common species. To be frank, there are so many obvious slips, that we cannot help doubting the general trustworthiness of the book throughout. The rapid increase in our knowledge of birds and their habits requires the exercise of judicious discrimination on the part of anyone who feels called upon to compile life-histories, together with long aud intimate acquaintance with the birds themselves. Perhaps an occasional resort to the gun would have resulted in a less sweeping generalization in regard to "regurgita- tion" than is hurled at the reader in the preface! Wecan agree that the "Birds of California" is much of it written in an interesting style, and is sure to be read with interest by the popular contingent. Of course an error now and then is not likely to be detected by the susceptible amateur, so that the book may be appreciated just the same. Yet it does not appear to us up to the standard of exactness demanded in the present stage of California ornithology. In view of the above remarks, detailed criticism seems hardly worth while.--J. GRINNELL. A REVISION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN ?AINLAND SPECIES O?' MIARCHUS. By E. W. NELSO};. From Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, XVII, March lO, ?9o4, pp. 21-5o. Mr. Nelson has given the North American mainland species of Myiarchus a thorough over- hauling in the present paper which covers all the species and subspecies of the genus known to occur in the mainland of North America north of the Isthmus of Panama. In addition, the birds of Cozumel Island near the coast of Yucatan, and the Tres Marias Islands off the coast of Tepic, western Mexico, have been included. "The genus Myiarchus appears to reach its greatest development in the Anterican tropics, including the West Indies, with a limited number of forms ranging well up into temperate North America. These most northerly representatives of the genus are cineracens, which reaches the northern border of the Upper Sonoran zone on the west coast in Oregon, and crinitus which crosses the Transition zone of eastern America to southern Canada and New Brunswick. lawrencei and its subspecies is the most widely distributed of the North American species, with a breeding range extending from the Isthmus of Panama to Southern Arizona and the Tres Marias Islands. The species of most limited distribution is probably _&r. yucatancrisis, found only on the peninsula of Yucatan and on Cozmnel Island." The introduction also touches upon questions of nomenclature, the moult, and calls attention to the fact that the dusky pattern on the tail feathers of rufous-tailed species has a considerable range of variation in extent. Myiarchus nuttin?i from Arizona thus turns out to be the female of cinerascens. "By the examination of several hundred specimens of the various species it has been demonstrated that the dusky pattern on the inner webs of the outer tail feathers (and to a similar degree on the inner tail feathers) of cinerascens, me?cicanus, crinitus, and nultin?i with
