can Herpetology." One, "Contributions to Neotropical Herpetology" gives a list of neotropical reptiles in the Stanford University Zoological Collection from Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Salvador. The second paper "Critical Notes on a Collection of Reptiles from the Western Coast of the United States" promises to form the basis of a corrected list which will be a guide for future students along this line, while the third paper is entitled "Notes on a Collection of Reptiles Made at Fort Smith, Ark." All the papers bear the imprint of careful work by the author, although the typography leaves much to be desired, but Mr. McLain may well congratulate himself upon putting forth such personal effort.
Bird-Lore for April comes promptly and, if anything, excels the initial number in contents and point of illustration. Typographically, as heretofore, it is without a flaw and will undoubtedly set the pace for ornithological journals in this respect for all time. The illustrations are such as every user of the camera and indeed every ornithologist may delight in. The frontispiece showing a Least Bittern on its nest and two half-tones of a Killdeer and nest, photographed from life, are notable examples of the possibilities of the camera in the field. The leading articles which treat chiefly of avian photography will benefit ornithologists who have photographic field work in view. The other articles are of a popular style, probably calculated to inspire in the "young idea" a proper reverence for the birds, all of which we hope may be effective, though we fear the inherent taste of the youth to "go gunning" cannot be so easily eradicated. Stress is laid upon the published accounts of certain egging trips, which are condemned, and we fear that sometimes any real merit or good intentions which the "condemned" may have possessed or shown in his article, are lost sight of.
The ninth supplement to the A. O. U. Check List, printed in the Auk for January, contains several new races of birds which have been accepted by the Committee on Classification and added to the check list, and which will interest Californians. Among them are Oceanodroma kaedingi Anthony, Kaeding's Petrel, "Socorro and Clariou Islands north to Southern California;" Pinicola enucleator californica Price, Californian Pine Grosbeak, "Higher parts of the Sierra Nevada, Central California:" Carpodacus mcgregori Anthony, McGregor's House Finch, "San Benito Id., Lower Cal."; Astragalinus tristis salicamans (Grinnell) "Pacific Coast region from Washington to Southern California"; Pipilo maculatus clementæe (Grinnell) "San Clemente Island, California": Harporhynchus redivivus pasadenensis Grinnell, Pasadena Thrasher, "Southern California"; Harporhynchus lecontei arenicola Anthony, Desert Thrasher, "Lower California."
Through the kindness and generosity of Mr. Lyman Belding, one of its honorary members, the Club has come into possession of a valuable MS. work, which, although unpublished, forms a companion part to Mr. Belding's well-known Land Birds of the Pacific District, dealing with the water birds of the same territory in a most omprehensive way. The bound volume consists of 246 type-written pages with an autographic preface by Mr. Belding, who states it was practically completed in 1886. He says: "The reversing of the Check List of the A. O. U. whereby the water birds came first in the list, instead of last as formerly, found me unprepared to give the time to the water birds that I needed, and supposing that the water birds would soon be needed for publication, I made a hurried compilation, finishing it in five or six weeks and this is the result." These notes, which form probably the most complete and valuable list of the water birds of the Pacific Coast yet undertaken, are largely compilations from different publications, and necessary interline-ations have been made up to 1897.
The Bulletin presents with pleasure in this issue a sketch by Miss Charlotte Bray of Santa Clara, drawn from a description. Miss Bray possesses genius as an artist and we hope to present other of her bird delineations in future issues.
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Band-tailed Pigeon Nesting in Santa Clara County, Cal.
During the last four years I have found two nests of the Band-tailed Pigeon, both in Santa Clara county and within ten miles of San Jose. The nests were both found in oak trees in a comparative oak forest. The first was found April 19, 1895 and was built on a horizontal limb of a white-oak tree twenty-five feet from the ground and contained one squab about a week old. The parent was flushed from the nest and well seen. The second nest was found March 11, 1898 and was built near the end of a horizontal live-oak limb thirty feet from the ground and was just completed. Both nests were compact structures, composed of an outer layer of twigs, filled in with pine needles and lined with fine grass. There are no pine trees in the vicinity, and the birds must have carried the needles from a distance. The pigeons used to be very common in the winter time in this vicinity, but are quite scarce now because of the timber being cut down.Wm. L. Atkinson, Santa Clara, Cal.
(Although the Wild Pigeon has never been recorded as nesting in the valleys of California, there seems to be no doubt of the above record being true. The locality in which they were found is heavily wooded with live mid white oak timber, and has been a favorite feeding ground for this species for years, so it seems not improbable that a few stray pairs remained to breed.—Ed.)
