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 84 THE CONDOR Vol. III that bird collectors of this Coast will aid me in my studies of these parasites by collecting specimens of them. In the last few years I have been able to determine about 25o species of Mallophaga from North American birds, of which number I have described about I5O as new. The other ioo are assigned to species previously described from European birds. Most of the American birds from which these Mallophaga were taken were collected by Mr. Loomis of the California Academy of Sciences by zoological students of Stanford, or by my- self, and have been chiefly Pacific Coast birds (from Alaska to Panama). A really good start bas thus been made toward a knowledge of the 4allophaga of western birds. But more speci- ?hens are necessary, and I must trust to bird collectors for help in getting this material. One can hardly bring oneself to shoot birds for the sake of collecting Mallophaga. but birds taken for skins can be made to render a double offer- ing to biological science in their death if the ornithologist will take the little trouble neces- sary to collect their insect parasites. All the Mallophaga from a single bird spe.ci- men should dropped into a vial of 85,%o alcohol, with a label bearing the name of bird, date aud locality of capture, the name of collector. Use a separate vial for each bird individual. One dram vials are the best, because smallest and cheapest. The vials should be well packed in cotton in finn wooden or tin boxes, and may be sent free by Well's Fargo Express, addressed to Entomological Museum, Stanford, California. Mark also, "Specimens, Donations" on the outside of the package. I make this request now hoping that CoN- DOR readers may have it in mind this sum- mer. As i shall be away from Stanford all summer, sending of specimens should be post- poned until after September. Sincerely yours, V. L. KELI, OGG. PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED. A NEw RAcE oF THE GREAT BLUE HERON, WITH REMARKS ON THE STATUS AND RANGE ov Irdea warall. By Frank M. Chapman. (Author's edition. Bulletion of the Am. Mus. of Nat. History, Vol. XIV, Article VIII pp. 87- 90. Apl. I8, I9OI. ) In the present paper Mr. Chapman separates the Great Blue Heron of the northwest coast region under the subspecific name of trdea herodiasfannini, the type coming from Queen Charlotte Island. The proposed subspecies differs from Irdea herodias .in having "a shorter tarsus and with plumage throughout much darker, the upper parts being bluish slate-black instead of bluish gray; tibiae more feathered." It is suggested that this form in- tergrades with true herodias further south. The author mentions that in the examination of material incident to the description of /. h. fannini, the Florida heron, ( lrdea wardO has not been found to possess characters en- titling it to specific rank, that there is nothing to indicate that the bird is other than a south- ern form of Irdea herodias and it is theta- fore suggested that it become Irdea herodias wardi. It is also proposed to extend the range of this southern form to the coast of Texas, whence specimens quite identical with the Florida birds have been taken.--C. B. THOSE of an analytical turn of mind should 'rest' in the April .4uk. There are subspecies to fit all tastes. Some them an AudubonJan will accept, while others need a severely sub~ jective state and a north light. It is worth rentarking that the subjective enters into every science which has reached an advanced stage and it seems to have been used occasionally by enthusiasts in discriminating too closely relat- ed races. But this does not necessarily militate against subspecies properly used. We cannot touch upon the articles of a gen- eral nature, but note the new races which are of interest to western ornithologists. Joseph Grinnell describes the varied thrush of the in- terior of Northern Alaska as ]-[esperocichla naria meruloides, reviving a name given by Swainson very probably to this form. He also separates the Aphelocoma of the Willamette Valley under the name lphelocoma californica immanis. Francis J. Birtwell describes tarus gambeli thayeri from Albuquerque, N.M. Wilfred H. Osgood separates the white- tailed ptarmigan of Colorado from the northern form under the name Lagopus leucurus altipetens. He also describes tnorthura hiemalls hellei from KarlAuk, Certhia fami- liaris zelotes from the southern Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Sierra Nevada of California, and ]-[ylocichla aonalaschkce verecunda which is distributed on the islands and coast of British Columbia and Southern Alaska. Descriptions of fifteen subspecies are reprinted from other sources. Those which have not appeared in THE CONOR are: Uolymbus dominicus brachypterusChapman, Lower Rio Grande, Texas; Irenaria morAnella (Linn) from Hudson Bhy region and Northeast; Isio accipitrinus mcilhennyi Stone, Arctic barren grounds; Slumella magna argutula Bangs, Florida; ]-[irundo erythrogastra unalaschkensis( G melin ) Unalaska; JUerula migratoria achrustera Batchelder, lowlands of Georgia and Carolina. Personally we miss the colored plates which The htk seems to have discontinued--and, we believe, to the detriment of the magazine. W. K.F.