44 THB CONDOR Vol. XVI ing important resources of Oregon. There is no reason why the State should not use her wild birds and animals as a prudent farmer protects and uses his flocks and herds. Game protection and game propagation is a busi- ness proposition not only for the man WhO lives in the city, but for the farmer, the fruit grower and the timber man. Game laws and game protection cannot be made effective un- til we get the real interest of the farmers, homesteaders, and other land owners throughout the state. "Game protection is not a political ques- tion.. Nor is it entirely a legal question. It has an economic aspect, and above all it requires educational work." The November number cites five instances of accidental shooting during the past deer season and gives the following warnlug to hunters: "Hunters should never shoot at moving brush, leaves or grass with the ex- pectation of killing game. It is dangerous, for the moving object is likely to be a man. Never shoot at any object until you are ab- solutely positive of identification." The main article of this issue is entitled "Refuges for wild birds and animals." Thus it can be seen that the contents of "The Oregon Sportsman" is of the eminently appropriate sort. But setting aside the material itself, it is the idea embodied that appeals to the re- viewer; for' he believes that there can be no consistent obedience to the law without a knowledge of the necessity for the law and some sympathy for it. Mr. Finley, State Game Warden of Oregon, by means of edu- cation, is laying a sure and sound fou'ndation not only for the automatic enforcement of game laws 'but for the conservation of Ore- gon's natural resources.--H. C. BRYANT. SoME BIRDS OF THE FRESNo DISTRICT, CALI- FORNIA. By Jo}IN G. TYLER (Pacific Coast Avifauna, no. 9, Oct. l, 1913, pp. 1-114). The Pacific Coast Avifauna series, pub- fished by the Cooper Ornithological Club, has just received another addition to its al- ready long list of valuable papers published under that head. Number 9 of this series is a non-technical paper dealing purely with life histories and the manner of occurrence in the region of the species treated. One hundred and sixty-one species are listed, evidently not a complete catalogue of the birds of the region, as a number of species not included are known at least to migrate through the state in general, and un- doubtedly will be found eventually in the Fresno. region. Accounts are well written and accurate, the description of flights of Turkey Buzzards being a 'good example of the scores o[ vivid pictures of com- mon phases of the lives of familiar birds, things recognizable at once to all bird stu- dents, and yet very seldom put into print. The author adheres closely to the usages of the 1910 edition of the A. O. U. Check-List, evidently wishing to avoid discussion of the technicalities of nomenclature and classifica- tion, and to make his contribution purely one of the life-histories of birds. The only exception noted is his treatment of the San Joaquin Valley Wren, for which he uses the name drymoecus, rather than include it under charienturus, as in the Check-List. In the ease of the red-breasted Sapsucker the binomial Sphyrapicus ruber is used in- stead of the trinomial S. ruber tuber, the uni- form usage throughout the remainder of the paper, apparently as a passive protest against the treatment accorded this species in the Check-List, which, however, through the policy adopted in the paper, 'he feels obliged to follow. In the cases of the Red-breasted Sapsucker, Brown Towhee and Blue Gros- beak, although the Check-List name is the one used, brief footnotes, or else a state- ment in the text, contain references to dis- senting opinions. The paper will serve as a striking exam- ple of the excellent work that can be done by a maximum amount of careful and ac- curate bird observation, with a minimum of bird killing. The identifications are care- fully made, nevertheless, and where.there was doubt specimens were collected and sub- mitted to experts. The small amount of collecting is reflected, however, in the rather uneven balance of certain subspecies, and also in the absence from the list of some birds, which, with hardly a doubt occur in the general region. Thus the occurrence of Melosp*sa lincolni striata, Passerella iliaca schistacea, and Hylocichla guttara nanus, together w?tn the absence of Melospiza lincolni lincolni, Passerella iliaca megarhyncha, and Hylo. cichla guttara guttara, if truly indicative of conditions, 'is a rather remarkable state of affairs deserving of careful investigation. No doubt is meant to be cast upon the accuracy of the identification of the specimens col- lected, but it seems probable that more exten- sive collecting would show that by chance some of the more uncommon visitants were gathered in, while more common ones were not secured. The notes on the humming- birds also could probably be considerably extended by a careful collection of specimens. The paper should be very useful in many ways. It is a reliable record of present con- ditions in a rapidly changing region; stu- dents of life-histories of birds, and of dis-
