Book News and Reviews
investigation. A Yellmv~tlrroated Vireo, which had wandered hundreds of miles out of its normal range, is recorded ‘as nar- rowly scrutinized in a quaking ash grove, May 12, 18953 Although Franklin’s Grouse undoubtedly occurs on Mt. Adams and about Cowlitz Pass. the remarks under this caption evidently refer to the Sooty or ‘Blue Grouse’ and not to the Fool Hen, which is a typical horeal species dwelling among firs and spruces, and not in the lower mountain ranges of the Upper
Sonoran and Transition Zones—A, K. F.
THE COSDOR.—The JltlyvAugust numr her of ‘The Condor’ contains several in- teresting arti es on the nesting habits of western birds, among which may be men~ tioned Bowles‘ ‘Notes on the Black- throated Gray Warbler,‘ Gilmalt’s ‘ Nest- ing of the Little Flammulated Screech Owl on San Gorgonio Mountain‘ in southern California, and Bailey’s ‘Nesting ot the Ruby- crowned Kinglet‘ near Kenat, Alaska, The Kinglet’s nest was found in a dense spruce about thirty feet from the ground, and is described as pyriform in shape. with the small end down, beautifully made of moss, fur, and silky, fibrous sub- stances compactly woven together. On June 6 it contained eleven eggs slightly ad» vanced in incubation. Two sets of eggs of Clarke‘s Nutcracker are recorded byjohnsolt irorn Box Elder Mountain, Utah, one with live eggs collected on April 8, when the snow was five feet deep under the tree, and the other taken on April r7i
Under the title ‘Notes on the Verdin,’ Gilman calls attention to the winter nests of Auriparur flnwirepr, constructed for roosting purposes, which are built by both sexes and difier somewhat from the breed- ing nestss An interesting account of two Yellow-billed Magpies raised in captivity is given by Noack, showng that the Cali- fornia bird has remarkable vocal powers and considerable ability to These characteristics would seem to render
artieu late.
it more attractive as a pet than the European Magpie, which is often imported as a cage bird. The Southern White—headed Wood- pecker (Xnmpirur gramironrir) is sep-
165
arated from typical X. allmlarrmmt, by Grinnell, on characters which are “slight, and apparently exist only in dimensions, chiefly of the bill." in spite of the fact that "individual variation brings an over- lapping of characters 7' and that " geographi- cal continuity oi ranges possibly exists,” the new form is given the rank of a full speciesl—T. s. P.
Book News
HOUGHTON, MlFFLlN 8: Co., announce for early publication a ‘ Handbook of the Birds of the Western United States,‘ by Florence Merriam Bailey. The book will be fully illustrated by Louis Agassiz F‘uertes, and will, it is needless to say, satisfactorily sup- ply the long-existing demand for a work devoted to western birds,
We are informed that the results of Dr. R. M. Strong’s long—continued studies on the colors or feathers will be published by the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy dur- ing the autumn.
THE Southern Pacific Railroad Company has published, in attractive form. Mr. H. P. Attwater's admirable address to Texas farm» ers, on ‘ Birds in their Relation to Agricul» Copies of this pamphlet can doubtless be obtained from Mr. Attwater at Houston, Texas.
ture.‘
No'r only the personal friends of Mr. Otto Widlnann, hut readers of his characteristic and delightful sketches of bird life, will learn witlt extreme regret of his loss, by fire, of field notes covering a period of thirty years’ observation.
ClltcuLAk No. 38 of the Biological Sur- vey of the United States Department of Agriculture, calls the attention of sports— men, dcalers in game, and transportation companies to the laws relative to the ship- ment of game, insectivorons birds and birds killed for millinery purposes.
From the same source a chart is issued giving a synopsis of the game laws ol the United States, and also, as Farmers' Bulletin No, :60, a summary of the provisions of the game laws tor r902.
