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THE BIRD CALENDAR. BY CLARENCE Moon-:5 WEED, Rand, McNally 8: Co. gzmo, 80 pages.
The purpose lor which this booklet and similar ones for trees and flowers is in- tended, is best explained in their author’s preface: "The use of these books will give a connection between school work and out- door observations of the pupil that is very They dignify the nature~stlldy work, and will develop the power of seeing things accurately"~rea marks which we heartily endorse. J. M. C,
advantageous. will
The Ornithological Magazines
THE OSI’RE The April ‘The Osprey’ opens with a most interest- ing and instructive article on the ‘Fceding Habits of the Coot and other Water-Fowl,’ by B. w. Evermann. The observations were made at Lake Maxinkuckee, Indiana. upon twenty-seven species of birds, but, as the title of the paper indicates, the Coot received the greatest amount of attention, Professor Evermann found that this bird, which is usually despised by sportsmen, is an expert diver, and as an article of tool is superior to most Ducks. Early in the sea» son the Cools ted largely on the winter buds of the wild celery, but after these be came scarce and hard to procure, other aquatic plants were eaten food it was often necessary for them to go to a depth of over twenty feet, and to re— main under water for at least a quarter of a mintlte. The paper on the vernacular names of the birds of the Marianne, or Ladrone Islands, by W. E, Satiord. is con~ tinued from the March issue and contains ihirt five species of birds, together with an alphabet of the Clramorro language, The May and June numbers contain several noteworthy papers. In the ‘Winter Water-fowl of the Des Moines Rapids,‘ E. S. Currier treats of the various species that inhabited the open holes during the winter, and especially of the Golden-eye, or Whistler, which was the commonest Duck.
B. J. Bretherton makes some pertinent remarks on the ‘Destruction of Birds by
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In securing this
notes on
Bird - Lore
Lighthouses,‘ and gives interesting details showing how vast numbers of migrating birds are killed. ‘The Works of John Cassiu,’ by Doctor Gill; ‘Recent Views of the Sable or Ipswich Sparrow,’ by W. E. Saunders; ‘The Mississippi Kite,‘ by A. F. Ganier; “Northern Parllla Warhler,’ by ]l M. Swain; and ‘The Porto Rican Pewee,’ by B. S, Bowdish, are all of in- terest and are well worthy of careful read- ing. The three supplements, containing ‘A General History of Birds‘ by Doctor Gill, cover twenty pages, The great delay in the appearance of ‘The Osprey’ is partly tlue to the serious illness of the esteemed editor, Doctor Gill. We are glad to allay anxiety, however, by assuring his friends that he has so far recovered his health as to be able to enjoy literary work once againl—A. K. F.
WILSON BULLETIN.—N||mbcr 39 of ‘The Wilson Bulletin’ has appeared since our last review, and contains ‘Winter Bird Studies in Lorain County, Ohio,’ by Lynds Jones; ‘A Preliminary List of the Birds of Yakima County, Washington,’ by W. L. Dawson: ‘ Incubation Period of the Mock» ing Bird,‘ by j. w. Daniel, Jr., and the recording of the European Widgeon as a new bird tor Ohio by Lynds Jones, Pro— fessor jones has devoted a great deal of time and energy during the past six years in making a study of the winter birds of Lorain county as complete as possible. He found it impracticable to work over this whole area, so chose as an alternative five routes that would bring him in contact with the most diversified Countryt As a reward for this labor sixtyvfive winter residents were observed, of which fifty were of more or less regular occurrence. A map shelving the routes along which observations were made accompanies this interesting paper, Local bird lists from the northwest are especially desirable; consequently the paper by W, L. Dawson on ‘The Birds of Yakima County, Washington,’ is most timely, The author wishes it to be under- stood that this list ol one hundred and twenty-three species. which is necessarily incomplete on account of the extent of terri- tory, is merely a working basis for future
