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 I46 THE CONDOR [ VoL. VII have devasted the bird colonies. Owing to the fact that Japan claimed the island, the naturalists were not allowed to use firearms, or rather to land with them, the Japanese officers in charge evidently fearing that the explorers might cherish hostile intentions. The islet is composed of coral, and is triangular in shape, with the sides about one and a half miles long. It is covered with trees and bushes except on the beaches, and harbors a considerable variety of sea birds. But to the disappointment of Mr. Bryan, no land birds were discovered. The special portion of the report includes an account of the birds, of which I8 species are listed, with short notices of the reptiles (2 species), iimects, molh:scs, crustaceans, botany, and an appendix containing a list of fishes by Bryan aBd Albert C. Herre. One new bird is described, ,/icratous tart'usi, which is most nearly related to the nolo, z}[. ha*,aiietsts. The account of the bird life is of great inter- est and value, and we are tempted to make extensive extracts. Even a casual glance at the paper will show that the author made good use of his week's sojourn on the island, and later has umde good use of his pen. Space will permit, however. only a part of the story of the Laysan albatross which used to breed abundantly on the island. Only one bird was seen alive by Mr. Bryan. "The story of the Marcus Island colony of goonies is one of death and extermination. In the beginning of the operations of the Japanese company on the island goonies were fairly abundant. Not being able to find guano by their crude methods, they developed a scheme whereby they were able to make a marketable commodity by killing the birds and boiling them down in great kettles. The resultant, consisting of flesh, bones and viscera, was barreled and shipped to Japan where it was used as a fertilizer. The long wing feathers of all the birds were pulled out and carefully preserved to beshipped to America and Europe and sold as 'eagle feath- ers,' which were in great demand for trimming on ladies' hats. The feathers from the breast were plucked off and sold by the pound. A profitable business was then developed, with the deplorable result that within six years the entire colony of these splendid birds has been exterminated." A specimen of Larus z,ece was secured from one of the residents of the island. ADDITIONAl, NOTES ON BIRDS OF THE UPPER PEC(1S. BY FLORENCE MERR1AM BAtLE. From The Auk, XXI, July, i9o4, pp. 348--363. This paper is in some ways supplementary to Henshaw and Nelson's "List of Birds Observed in Summer and Fall on the Upper Pecos River, New Mexico "(Aux II, I885, pp. 326--333; III, 886 pp. 73-8o) and consists of observations made on the Pecos Forest Reserve, and carried to an altitude of 13,3oo feet on Pecos Baldy and Truehas Peaks. The list comprises 94 species, with annotations, some of which are quite extended, and written in Mrs. Bailey's usual clear style. TIlE ORIGIN ANt) DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHP:STNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE. By JosEPH t;RN.XE.n. From The Auk, XXI, July, I9O4, pp. 364-382. Iu this paper Mr. Grinnell points out the probable origin of the chestnut-backed and Hudsonian chickadee from a common ancestor, "larus fire-hudsoticux," the chestnut backed having differentiated first as a race of this hypothetical form. Finally through isolation it be- came a full species, restricted to the humid coast belt, while hudsontitus, another subspecies of "pre-hudsonicus," became confined to the boreal arid interior. Each species then differentiated races of its own as its range extended into new fanhal conditions. The paper is illustrated by two maps and a chart. A PRELIMINARY REIEW OF THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA, W1TH SYNOPSES. By LAWRENCE BRUNER, RklBERT H. WALCOTT, MYRON H. SWENK, (no date; received Oct. 8, 19o4.) 8 vo. I25 pages. Klopp & Bartlett Co., maha, Neb. The synopses and careful annotations make this book really a manual of the birds of Nebraska, a mannal at least that a student with some knowledge of birds will De able to handle. The paper is prefaced by an essay on "Birds in Relation to Agriculture and Horticulture" by Prof. Bruner. The annotations are short but definite, and are concerned entirely with the status of the species. We note that the authors have joined the ranks of the "non-possessive ornitholo- gists, ' all of which indicates how the wind is blowing. This paper is decidedly a credit to its authors and to Nebraskan ornithologists. The reviewer hopes that the Cooper Ornithological Club will sometime be able to bring out a hookon California birds modeled something after this brochure. ADDITIONS TO I1TCHELI,'S L1ST oF THE SUMMER BIRDS OF SAN ,I1GUEL (OUNTV, NEW M;>rco. By FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY. From The Aux, XXI, Oct. I9O4, pp. 443-449- This paper lists 56 species, beiug additions to l)r. Walton I. Mitchell's list of 85 species. The notes were taken during about two months of Biological Survey work spread over thethree sum- ruer months. The paper opens with a description of the country and its fauual characteristics. No work was done in the northern part of the county east of the line between Las Vegas and Morn, which would probably have brought in a number of additional mountain species. DESCRIPTION OF FOUR NEW BIRDS IROM MEXICO. By E. W. NELSON. From Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. XVII, Oct. 6, i9o4, pp. I51-I5 . In this paper are described the following new forms: Porzana goldmani, from the valley of