Book News and Reviews 99
observed in the Flathead Lake, Montana region.
Those who are familiar with the author‘s studies of bird»life know that he is a close observer and an excellent describer of birds' habits, and much of the matter included in this paper forms a most acceptable contri— bution to our knowledge of the life-histories of the species treated—F. M. C.
The Ornithological Magazines
THE OSPREY.—judging from the firs‘ three numbers, the current volume of "I‘he Osprey,‘ with its new type, full line pages, better paper, more harmonious cover, care- fully printed plates, and increased size, is surely a vast improvement over previous ones in mechanical makerup. and a great stride in the direction of satisfactory book~ making. We are glad to see that Doctor Gill has commenced the long-promised work on the ‘General History of Birds’, which was begun as a supplement to the January issue, and which will be continued in that form in subsequent numbers, with independ- ent pagination from the main part of the magazine, so that on completion of the work it may be bound separately. The bio- graphical sketches of Sir john Richardson and John Cassin by the editor, and of Prof. Alfred Newton by Dr. Shuf‘feldt, are of special interest, and we trust that a goodly number of the earlier ornithologists will receive due attention. D. A. Cohen gives us a good account of the California Jay and W. C. Kendall hastwo papers in ‘ Random Maine Bird Notes,‘ referring mainly to the marked decrease of various birds, and the habits of grouse. The following papers, together with a number of shorter notes, are of interest: William Palmer, 'August Birds of Stony Man Mountain, Virginiat‘ M. S. Ray, ‘Rambles about My Old Home;‘ F. H. Knowlton, ‘The Mockingbird at Home;’ W. R. Maxon, ‘Notes on some Yellow-throated Vireos’ Nests;‘ W. E. Safiord, ‘Birds of the Marianne Islantls;’ P. M. Silloway, ‘Notes on McCown‘s Longspur in Montana;‘ and B. S. Bowdish on the Carib Grassquet.’ We were a little surprised to see in the review of Professor
Maeoun's ‘Catalogueof Canadian Birds‘ a statement by the reviewer that the Glaucous- winged Gull and not the Point Barrow Gull, is abundant about the Pribilof Islands. In the summer of 1899 the only large Gull we positively identified about this group of islands, as well as in the vicinity of St. Matthew and St. Lawrence islands, was the Point Barrow Gull.—A. K. F.
WiLsoN BULLETIN.7In ‘Wilson Bulle- tin’ No. 36, Lynds jones gives an account of ‘All Day With the Birds‘ in Lorain county, Ohio, where on May 9, rgor, dur- ing the interval between 4 A. M. and 2.30 l’. M., he and his friend W. L. Dawson identified 109 speciesia feat hard to sur— pass even in the few most favorable locali— ties. On one other occasion lMay 8, 1899‘, they recorded nz species, which is, as far as the reviewer knows, the largest list for any one dayt' In the 'Passing of the Bird,’ R W. Smith makes some pertinent remarks on the decrease of birds in the south—a section where game laws are badly needed and where apathy allows even such a bird as the Woodcock to remain unprotected dur- ing the breeding season.
F. L. Burns has devoted much time and energy during the past three seasons, at Berwyn, Pa., to making a careful count of the breeding birds occupying a certain diversified piece of ground covering about a square mile. The results are well set forth in ‘Wilson Bulletin’ No. 37, under the title of ‘A Sectional Bird Census,’ and even a cursory glance shows that his self- imposed task must have been a time—con- suming one. After carefully checking up the work of the three independent seasons, he found that 62 species, representing 1,338 individuals, inhabited the section—a little over a pair of birds to the acre. The Field Red-eyed Vireos, Ovenbirds. Chipping Sparrows, Robins and Catbirds abundant, and the Cooper‘s Hawk and English Sparrows were the only injurious ones. We regret to see that in enumerating the enemies of the birtls he failed to call direct attention to the cat, which without doubt destroys as many binls as all other animate agencies combined.
Sparrows,
were most
