Page:Bird-lore Vol 06.djvu/252

 Book News and Reviews

this faculty is exercised tlt tng migration." He reputliates the currentheliel that coast lines, mountain chains, and river courses form well-marked highways oi migration. and says. "the truth seems to he that birds pay little attention to natural physical highways, except when large hodies of water force them to deviate lrom the desired course." The existence of a much»fre- quented migratory route from Floritla ll) Cuba. and thence westward to Yucatan. is denied. it being stated that. as a matter of fact. most birds cross the Gulf of Mexico directly to Yucatan and Mexico.

Particularly valuable is that portion of Professor Cooke’s paper devoted to the vari- ations in the speed of migration. in which it is shown that with certain species "the speed increases as the birds move northward, because the advance of the seasons is more rapid in the northern interior than on and near the southern coa. "

in regard to the alleged disappearance of the Chimney Swift after leaving the shores of the Gulf States. the British Museum Catalogue (xvi. p. 48t) lists specimens oi this species from Jalapa. Yucatan and Guatemala.-Fi M. C

A PRELIMINARY Renew or Tl-th Bums or Nenuasxa. with Synopses. By Law— RENEE BKUNER, Rosenr H.\VM.CHTT and MYION H, SWENK, Svo. 125 pages. Klopp st Bartlett (30.. Omaha. Neh.

This list becomes at once the authorita- tive. standard taunal paper on Nebraska birds. The annotations are detailed and satisfactorily deﬁnite, while the introduction of analytical lteys makes the work. in a measure. a text-hook from which one may learn not only a bird‘s status but its name. . Profeaaor Bruner's introductory paper on ‘ Birds in Relation to Agriculture anti Horticulture,‘ gives due prominence to this side of ornithological research. and empha- sizes the importance of the work of economic ornithologists.—-F. M. C.

CATALOGUE 0F Bmlsu COLUMBIA limos. By FRANCIS Kennonoe. Provincial r\lu- seum, Victoria. 8. C. Svo. 69 pages.

This paper will replace Fannin's‘Check- Lin at British Columbia Birds,’ to which

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it adds .q species. making a total at to; species and subspecies nhicll hate nu“ been recorded lrom Mritislt Columbia.” F. .\I. C.

The Ornithological Magazines

The AUK.7Tl|e Uctoliet ‘Auk' with a sketch ol ‘A Fortnight on the Farra- lones' hy Milton 5. Ray, and. although this hird colony has been the theme of many another pen. Mr. Ray's delighthrl dcsctip- tions and striking photographs are a wel- come addition lo the literature of the island.

Some additions to Mitchell's list of liirds of New Mexico are made Ivy Florence M. Bailey. and the balance at the magazine is devoted to birds ol the South. Mr. R. W. \Villiams presents 'A Preliminary List of the Birds of Leon County. Florida,‘ Chas. R. Stuckartl writes on the ‘Nestitlg llahitn ol the \\'oodpet~kers and Vultures ol .\lisr sissip)li,' and Andrew Allison utlers an annotated list of "I‘he Hints ol \Vt-st Baton Rouge Parish. Lutrisiana.‘

We notice that Mr. \Villiants states that the male Red-winged Blackbird assumes, in winter. the plumage of the female. Ht:

opens

has evidently mistaken the young males for iemales and not seen the black adults with the red shoulder-patches. This raises the question, \Vhere have the adults belaken themselves-.7 for they are certainly conspic- uous enough not to escape notice.

Notes. reviews and index carry the total number of pages for the year up In 53:, the largest volume ever put in the hands of members of the A. 0. U. The year too; will be memorable for the tirst discovery. in Michigan. of the nest of Kirtland's Warv bler. tn which reference is made at page 506. [t is to be regretted that the original record did not ﬁnd its way into the ‘Ault,’ but at page 437 Edward Arnold records from the same locality another nest taken in 1904.— J. 1).. jr.

THE CoNt)uR.—Since our last review two numbers of ‘The Condor’ have appeared. lmth replete w ‘nterestingnotes and news. In the July >Augtlst nrrmhet Mrs. Bailey describes her experience with ‘A Dusky Grouse and Her Brood in New h‘lexirn.’