Chapter VIII: Part 8

Four Ornithological Trips to the Nullabor Plains. By Capt. S. A. White.—An interesting account of travel in this region with many illustrations.

=Revue Française d’Ornithologie.= X., No. 114. October 7, 1918. [In French.]

Contribution to a Study of the Storm Petrels of the Mediterranean. By L. Lauden.

Researches on the Group of _Saxicola aurita_ and _S. stapazina_. By M. Bede (concluded in the next number).

Study of a Collection of Birds made by M. E. Wagner in the Provence of Misiones, Argentina. By A. Menegaux (continued in the next number).

=Revue Française d’Ornithologie.= X., No. 115. November 7, 1918.

Two Character Indices and Differentials of the Passeres, Waders and Gallinaceous Birds. By Maurice Boubier.—Comparisons of the relative length of the first and middle digits, and between the length and breadth of the bill.

The December number consists of an index to the volume.

Ornithological Articles in Other Journals.

=Oberholser=, H. C. Description of a New _Iole_ from the Anumba Islands. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington XXXI, December 30, 1918.—_I. olivacea crypta_ p. 197).

=Oberholser=, H. C. Status of the Genus Orchilus. Cabanis. (_Ibid._)—_Nothorchilus_, gen. nov. (p. 204) type _Platyrhynchus auricularis_ Vieill.

=Hartert=, Ernst. Notes on Starlings. (Novitates Zoöl., XXV, No. 2, November, 1918.)—A review of the races of _Sturnus vulgaris_, of which 19 are recognized, _S. v. zetlandicus_ (p. 329) North Yell, Shetland Isls., is described as new.

=Hartert=, Ernst and =Goodson=, A. T. Notes on Pigeons. (_Ibid._)—Revisions of various species. The following new forms are proposed: _Ptilinopus rivolii buruanus_ (p. 347), Buru; _Treron calva poensis_ (p. 350), Fernando Po; _T. c. brevicera_ (p. 353), Moschi, E. Africa; _T. c. sejuncta_ (p. 353), Portuguese Guinea; _T. curvirostra hainana_ (p. 356), Hainan; _Geopelia maugeus audacis_ (p. 358) Tenimber.

=Hartert=, Ernst. Some Nomenclatorial Notes. (_Ibid._)—Reference to Navás’ ‘Ornithologia de Aragón (1907)’ and new names proposed therein. Also the following changes. _Corvus affinis_ Rupp. becomes _C. brachyrhynchos_ Brehm; _Oriolus melanocephalus_ L. 1766 becomes _O. luteolus_ (L.) 1758; _Muscicapa grisola_ (L.) becomes _M. striata_ (Pall.); _Carpophaga_ becomes _Muscadivora_ Schl., _Muscidivores_ Gray being rejected. There is finally a strong protect against changing names on the basis of one letter (or other slight) difference.

=Hartert=, Ernst. A New Race of Long-tailed Titmouse. (_Ibid._)—Pyrenees form described but not named (see _antea_ p. 310).

=Hartert=, Ernst. _Garrulus bispecularis_ and its allies with List of all Forms of _Garrulus_. (_Ibid._)—_G. b. persaturatus_ (p. 430) Khasia Hills, _G. b. interstinctus_ Darjiling.

=Hartert=, Ernst. Further Notes on Pigeons. (_Ibid._)—_Phlegœnas crinigera basilanica_ (p. 434), Basilan; _P. c. leytensis_ (p. 434), Leyte.

=Wait=, W. E. Notes on Ceylon Water Birds. Part II. (Spolia Zeylanica, X, Part 39.) October, 1917.

=Wait=, W. E. Rough Draft of Ceylon Pigeons and Game Birds. (_Ibid._)

=Oberholser=, H. C. Spizixidæ, a new Family of Pycnonotine Passeriformes. (Jour. Washington Acad. Sciences, IX. January 4, 1919.)—Spizixidæ (p. 14) also _Cophixus_ gen. nov. type _Spizixus semitorquus_ (p. 15).

=Iverson=, L. Moth. An Essay Comparing some Mammals and Birds of North Central Europe with Related Species native in Northern United States. (Trans. Utah Acad. Sci., I, 1918.)—A rather unfortunate effort, as the vernacular names used for American species sometimes leave one in doubt as to what bird the author has in mind; the Coots of the two countries are said to be quite differently colored!

=Anonymous.= Protection of Insect-eating Birds in St. Vincent [West Indies]. (The Agricultural News, XVIII, January, 1919.)

=Slonaker=, J. R. A Physiological Study of the Anatomy of the Eye and its Accessory Parts, of the English Sparrow (_Passer domesticus_). (Jour. of Morphology, XXXI, pp. 351-434, 1918.)

=Johnson=, C. E. The Origin of the Ultimobranchial Body and its Relation to the Fifth Pouch in Birds. (_Ibid._, pp. 583-592.)

=Robinson=, Herbert C. Two Abnormal Specimens of Ducks in the Collection of the Zoölogical Survey of India. (Records of the Indian Museum, XV, pp. 41-48, 1918.)—_Eunetta falcata_ × _Chaulelasmus streperus_; and _Anas boschas_ × _Querquedula crecca_.

=Philpott=, Alfred. Notes on Certain Introduced Birds in South-land (New Zealand). (The New Zealand Jour. of Sci., I, No. 6, 1918.)—Twelve species of English birds have been introduced, many of these have increased and spread widely while others have not.

=White=, S. A. Results of the South Australian Museum Expedition to Strzelecki and Cooper Creeks, September and October, 1916. (Trans. and Proc. Royal Soc. South Australia, XLI, pp. 441-466, 1917.)

=Van Sommeren=, V. G. L. _Pitta angolensis longipennis_ (Reichenow). (Jour. East African-Uganda Nat. Hist. Soc. No. 18, pp. 279-280.)

=Lletget=, Augusto Gil. Two New Passeres from the Collection of the Pacific Expedition. (Bol. Real. Soc. Espan. Hist. Nat., XVIII, No. 7-8, pp. 340-341.)—_Icterus xantholemus_ (p. 340), Ecuador, and _Cercomacra tyranina atrogularis_ (p. 341); the Icterus is not compared with other forms. [In Spanish.]

=San Martin=, Julio. On the Turkey Vulture. (Mem. Soc. Cubana, Hist. Nat. Felipe Poey, II, pp. 29-38.) 1916. [In Spanish.]

=Sanches=, y Roig, Mario. The Naturalist William S. MacLeay. (_Ibid._, pp. 73-78.). [In Spanish.]

=Ramsden=, C. T. Life and Zoölogical Explorations of Dr. Juan Gundlach in Cuba. (_Ibid._, III, pp. 146-168.) [In Spanish.]

=Ramsden=, C. T. The Turkey Vulture (_Cathartes aura_). Results of Experiments Concerning the Transmission of Disease through their Digestive Organs (_Ibid._, pp. 174-178) [In Spanish.]

=Rodrigues y Toralbas=, Victor J. A New Species for the Ornis of Cuba. (_Ibid._, pp. 22, 223-224.) Cinnamon Teal, (_Querquedula cyanoptera_). [In Spanish.]

=Heikertinger=, Franz. An Attempt to Solve the Problem: How can the Native Country and Geographic Distribution of a Species be Indicated through a brief addition to its Specific Name? (Zoöl. Anzeiger, L. pp. 41-54. 1918.)—This paper should prove of interest to students of nomenclature, who find their field of activity narrowing through the gradual settling of the older points of dispute. Without attempting to explain the meaning of the various prefixes and suffixes proposed, we may say that the Puffin, _Fratercula arctica_ appears, as “_Dufraterclus oarcticus_.” [In German.]

=Lebedinsky=, N. G. On the Form of the Under Mandible in Birds. (_Ibid._, pp. 31-36.) [In German.]

=Publications Received.=

=Bangs=, Outram. (1) Notes on the Species and Subspecies of _Pœcilonitta_ Eyton. (Proc. N. E. Zoöl. Club, VI, pp. 87-89. October 31, 1918.) (2) A New Genus of Caprimulgidæ. (_Ibid._, pp. 91-92.) (3) A New Race of the Black-throated Green Warbler. (_Ibid._, pp. 93-94) (4) Notes on South American Short-eared Owls. (_Ibid._, pp. 95-98.) (5) The Races of Dendroica vitellina Cory. (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., LXII, No. 11, January, 1919.) (6) Types of _Pachycephala littayei_ Layard. (Ibis, October, 1918.)

=De Fenis=, M. F. Contribution a l’Etude des Cris et du Chant des Oiseaux dans ses Rapports avec la Musique. (Bull. l’Inst. Gen. Psychologique. Juillet-Décembre?, 1917, pp. 87-130.)

=Dwight=, Jonathan. Description of a New Race of the Western Gull. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 32, pp. 11-14, February 14, 1919.)

=Grinnell=, Joseph, =Bryant=, H. C., and =Storer=, Tracy L. The Game Birds of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1918. Large 8vo, pp. i-x + 1-642, 16 colored plates, 94 text figures. Cloth, $6.00 net.

=McAtee=, W. L. Food Habits of the Mallard Ducks of the United States. (Bull. 720 U. S. Dept. Agric., pp. 1-35, December 23, 1918.)

=Mathews=, Gregory M. The Birds of Australia, VII, Pt. IV, December 19, 1918.

=Miller=, Carrie Ella. Birds of Lewiston-Auburn and Vicinity. pp. 1-80, Lewiston Journal Co., Lewiston, Maine. Price 50 cents paper, $1.00 cloth.

=Oberholser=, H. C. Mutanda Ornithologica, V. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 32, pp. 7-8, February 14, 1919.)

=Riley=, J. H. Two New Genera and Eight New Birds from Celebes. (_Ibid._, 31, pp. 155-160, December 30, 1918.)

=Shufeldt=, R. W. Notes on the Osteology of the Young of the Hoatzin (_Opisthocomus cristatus_) and Other Points on its Morphology. (Journ. Morphology, 31, No. 3, December, 1918.)

=Stone=, Witmer. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with Special Reference to a Collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1918, pp. 239-280, November 30, 1918.)

=Wetmore=, Alexander. (1) Birds Observed near Minco, Central Oklahoma. (Wilson Bull., March, 1918.) (2) Lead Poisoning in Waterfowl. (Jour. Wash. Acad. Sci., VIII, No. 11, June 4, 1918.)

=Zimmer=, John T. A Few Rare Birds from Luzon, Mindanao and Mindoro. (Philipp. Jour. of Sci., XIII, No. 5, Sect. D., Sept., 1918.)

* * * * *

=American= Museum Journal, XVIII, No. 8, December, 1918.

=Avicultural= Magazine, (3), X, Nos. 2 and 3, December, 1918 and January, 1919.

=Bird-Lore=, XXI, No. 1, January-February, 1919.

=Bird= Notes and News, VIII, No. 4, Winter, 1918.

=British= Birds, XII, Nos. 7 and 8, December, 1918 and January, 1919.

=Bulletin= American Game Protective Association, 7, No. 4, October, 1918.

=Bulletin= British Ornithologists’ Club, Nos. CCXXXVII-CCXXXIX, November 30, 1918, January 3 and 29, 1919.

=Bulletin= Charleston Museum, XV, No. 1, January, 1919.

=California= Fish and Game, V, No. 1, January, 1919.

=Condor=, The, XX, No. 6, XXI, No. 1, November-December, 1918 and January-February, 1919.

=Emu=, The, XVIII, Part 3, January, 1919.

=Fin=, Feathers and Fur, No. 16, December, 1918.

=Ibis=, The, (11) I, No. 1, January, 1919.

=Oölogist=, The, XXXV, No. 12, XXXVI, Nos. 1 and 2, December, 1918, January and February, 1919.

=Ottawa= Naturalist, The, XXXII, Nos. 5 and 6, November and December, 1919.

=Proceedings= and Transactions Nova Scotia Institute of Science, XIV, Part 3 (August, 1918.)

=Revue= Française d’Ornithologie, X, Nos. 114-116, October-December, 1918.

=Scottish= Naturalist, The, Nos. 83 and 84, November and December, 1918.

=Wilson=, Bulletin, The, XXX, No. 4, December, 1918.

CORRESPONDENCE

IDENTIFICATIONS.

(CHARACTERS VS. GEOGRAPHY).

EDITOR OF ‘THE AUK’;

We are between two horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, _vide_ Dr. Dwight, how can we verify a specimen as subspecies “x” unless it carries the distinguishing marks by which “x” is characterized? Subspecific and other similar distributions must be founded upon observed differences in specimens; to reverse the process and identify specimens geographically without regard to characters neither adds to nor verifies existing knowledge and is reasoning in a vicious circle. It can confirm error but never correct it.

On the other hand, as Dr. Grinnell points out, taxonomic relationship descends genetically. An individual is form “y” because it comes of “y” parentage, not because it happens to show certain peculiarities of form or color. Just as distribution maps must be based upon exhibited characters, so genesis is more fundamental than appearance or form which manifestations may at any time be obscured by atavism, mutation or migration. The very fact that a certain subspecies exists in some part of a specific range is indicative that it is a possible variation in that species and suggests a certain tendency in that direction latent in every individual of that specific form. We can therefore expect, every now and then, to find individuals of pure “x” blood resembling, in varying degree, “y” of the same species. To name such a specimen “y” is as logical as calling a Viceroy butterfly a Monarch because it superficially resembles one. On these points, Dr. Grinnell is as sound as Dr. Dwight is on his.

The flaw in Dr. Grinnell’s reasoning is however in his advising the geographical identification of aberrant specimens on the assumption that genetic and geographical relationship are synonymous. Dealing with stationary forms of life, such as plants, proximity of station is only strong presumptive evidence of genetic affinity. With mobile birds such probability is tremendously reduced. With Scissor-tailed Flycatchers from Hudson Bay and Black-capped Petrels from the Mississippi Valley it is evident that community of association is only presumptive of community of descent and that geography is an uncertain guide to identification.

Dr. Grinnell pleads for the exercise of “the judgment based upon experience—just as is needed in any other advanced field of knowledge.” No one will quarrel with him over the value of this necessary qualification of decision. The only question is where shall it be used? Is not the first duty of the scientific investigator the elimination of the human equation in the statement of fact? In the deductions drawn therefrom full scope must be allowed for the genius of skilled intuition but a sharp dividing line must always be drawn between ascertained demonstrable facts and hypotheses.

The truth is, we cannot with absolute certainty identify every specimen we study. Why then deceive ourselves and mislead others by making a bluff at doing the impossible? Why not own up honestly and admit that we cannot name such material? We may state that we think it is so and so and where necessary give reasons for the conclusion, but to pass as fact what is only opinion is not the spirit of modern science. The logical solution of the problem is to name subspecifically only such specimens as are humanly demonstrable and use the binomial for the rest. In other words reverse usual practice and instead of using the trinomial regularly and the binomial on occasion use the binomial generally and the trinomial only where necessity or the facts justify its use.

P. A. TAVERNER.
Museum Geological Survey,
Ottawa, Ont., Dec. 27, 1918.

[While there are some points in favor of Mr. Taverner’s plan, which by the way he has put into practice in his article on ‘The Birds of the Red Deer River’ in this and the preceding numbers of ‘The Auk,’ there are others which count against it.

First of all we must realize that the practice of duplicating the specific name when referring to the earliest subspecies of a group—i. e. _Melospiza melodia melodia_—is by no means universally adopted, and in very many recent papers and all of those of earlier date the binomial _Melospiza melodia_ is used for the first described race and trinomials for the others. Now Mr. Taverner would use this binomial for _some one race_ (seen but not positively determined) of _M. melodia_. In the A. O. U. ‘Check-List’ the same binomial is used to indicate the whole group of subspecies of Song Sparrows collectively. Hence we have three different concepts which we try to denote by one expression. In an index these are hopelessly confused and we are likely to miss valuable information about some form that we are investigating because it is masquerading under some specific name where we would never think of looking for it.

Now as we have in current use a form of name to indicate just what Mr. Taverner has in mind, why not stick to it—i. e. _Melospiza melodia_ subsp.? This would avoid all ambiguity. As his practice stands I find it is quite misunderstood, as all of those of whom I inquired, and who had not read Mr. Taverner’s published views on the subject, thought that he was simply following Mr. Leverett M. Loomis in abandoning subspecies entirely.

Another difficulty presents itself when we try to follow out Mr. Taverner’s plan in the matter of closely related _species_. There are many species that so closely resemble one another that differentiation would be impossible in the field should they happen to occur together. Now Mr. Taverner in his efforts to avoid every possible mistake refuses to designate the subspecies of the American Magpie because there are European races of the bird which would be indistinguishable from it should they happen to occur here. At the same time he does not hesitate to name the Titlark, _Anthus rubescens_, although he would find it equally difficult to distinguish it from the European _A. spinoletta_—of which indeed Dr. Oberholser considers it a subspecies. So with the Bittern, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, etc., etc., which closely resemble species in other parts of the world. Now if it is permissible to “guess” at these _species_ why not guess the subspecies also, where we are reasonably certain of them, and use the form I have indicated above in cases where we are on the borderland between races or where winter flocks may contain more than one subspecies?

If we should collect several specimens of a bird that was widely distributed over the region we were exploring it would seem absurd not to infer that all were the same form, and record them as common—though we should really be _absolutely certain_ of only the few that had been shot.

As a matter of fact it is possible to make a misidentification in the case of almost any sight record and we also make misidentifications when we have specimens actually in hand, while every reviser of a group has a different opinion as to the disposition of specimens from certain regions. Therefore it should be clear that no system of names will ensure absolute accuracy.

In view of all this why not follow previous custom and make our identifications generic, specific and subspecific where the evidence points with reasonable clearness; using “sp.?” or “subsp.?” where there is a real doubt?

Nomenclature is now bearing about all the burdens it will stand and with the excessive multiplication of genera, the establishment of several different kinds of intergradation, the proposed revision in the forms of names according as they are regarded as adjectives or nouns—it is rapidly weakening both in utility and stability, and ere long we may be in danger of a collapse of the whole cumbersome system!—WITMER STONE.]

NOTES AND NEWS.

DR. FREDERICK DUCANE GODMAN, one of the original Honorary Fellows of the American Ornithologists’ Union, a past president of the British Ornithologists’ Union and famous as one of the authors of the ‘Biologia Centrali Americana,’ died at his home in England on February 19, 1919, aged 85 years.

Dr. Godman was born on January 15, 1834, and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. At college he met Osbert Salvin and the two developed an intimate friendship which was broken only by Salvin’s death in 1898. There were other college friends too, all of them interested in ornithology and they used to meet for comparison of notes and specimens. This led to the formation in 1857 in the rooms of Alfred Newton, of the British Ornithologists’ Union.

Entomology and Botany also engaged Godman’s attention and a trip with Salvin to Jamaica, Belize and Guatemala, in 1861, resulted in the collecting of a large amount of natural history material. They united their collections and began preparations for the great work on the natural history of Central America which has been ever closely associated with their names—the ‘Biologia Centrali Americana’ the first parts of which appeared in 1878. Godman with a corps of expert collectors visited Mexico in 1888 in the interests of this work, while at various times he made trips to different parts of Europe, and North Africa. He published a work on the Azores in which islands he had travelled extensively and was also author of numerous articles in ‘The Ibis’ and other scientific journals. During his later life he was more interested in entomology, pursuing extensive studies in the Lepidoptera, but joined with Dr. Bowdler Sharpe in 1907 in getting out a Monograph of the Petrels, a work which his friend Salvin had always had in mind.

Dr. Godman was deeply interested in hunting and fishing and his great diversion from his more serious work was horticulture. He served both as Secretary and President of the B. O. U. and was a trustee of the British Museum. His death leaves but one of the original Honorary Fellows of the A. O. U., Count Salvadori.—W. S.

ROBERT DAY HOYT, a pioneer naturalist and bird collector in Florida, died at his home at Seven Oaks, near Clearwater, Florida, on November 23, 1918. Although never a member of the American Ornithologists’ Union, he possessed a wide knowledge of Florida birds and through his collections contributed much to the advancement of ornithology in that State.

Mr. Hoyt was born in New York City, November 18, 1857. When he was about eighteen years of age, his parents moved to Madison, New Jersey. He early developed a love for the outdoors and the living creatures about him. When still quite young he became acquainted with David Dickenson, of Chatham, New Jersey, and from him learned the art of taxidermy. He then went to Florida on a collecting trip and spent several weeks camping with his father on the St. Johns River, the Oklawaha, and Silver Springs. He continued to visit the State every winter thereafter until 1881, when he moved to Clearwater and bought the place at Seven Oaks where he lived the rest of his life.

He improved every opportunity to collect natural history material and amassed a considerable collection of mounted birds, birds’ skins, and birds’ eggs, which is now in the Florida State Museum at Gainesville. He was a skilled taxidermist and his services were always in demand for such work. He mounted a large number of birds for Mr. John Lewis Childs, of Floral Park, New York, most of which are now in the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Museum.

Unfortunately, Mr. Hoyt found little time or inclination to publish the results of his observations. Following is a list of the only papers by him known to the writer:

1905. Nesting of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Florida
(_Campephilus principalis_). The Warbler (2nd Series),
I, No. 2, pp. 52-55, 1 plate. Nesting of Ward’s Heron
(_Ardea herodias wardi_). Ibid., I, No. 4, pp. 114-115.

1906. Nesting of the Roseate Spoonbill in Florida. Ibid., II, No. 3,
pp. 58-59.

1918. The American Robin in its northern migration, Feb. 15, 1915,
in Pinellas County, Fla. The Oölogist, XXXV, pp. 6, 9;
2 plates.

Mr. Hoyt is survived by his widow, two sons, and two daughters.

A. H. H.

THE Museum of the California Academy of Sciences has recently acquired by gift the entire ornithological and oölogical collection of Messrs. Joseph and John W. Mailliard, prominent business men of San Francisco, and Fellow and Member respectively of the American Ornithologists’ Union.

The collection contains close to 25,000 specimens, and is primarily a research collection. Of bird skins there are more than 11,000 specimens representing 777 species; of nests and eggs there are upwards of 13,000 specimens representing more than 600 species.

The Mailliard brothers have been interested in birds from their boyhood days, and these collections are the result of more than forty years of careful, painstaking field work. There are perhaps few, if any, collections that have been made with greater care or in which a greater percentage of the specimens have real scientific value. In the ornithological collection are some of the first reliable records of several species of California birds, as well as the only specimens of other species from localities where they are now unknown. There are also many albino specimens of unusual interest, and several remarkable hybrids. Of certain forms the series are the most complete of any collection in America. In the oölogical collection there are large, carefully selected series of species now difficult or impossible to obtain.

The Messrs. Mailliard are members of the Cooper Ornithological Club and are both actively interested in the California Academy, John W. Mailliard being a trustee and Joseph Mailliard honorary curator of birds in the Academy’s Museum.

The Academy is certainly to be congratulated upon securing this valuable collection, which, added to those already in its possession puts this institution in the front rank in the field of ornithology and oölogy in western America.

NOW that the war is over and travelling becomes possible again a number of collectors are in the field. Roy Chapman Andrews of the American Museum of Natural History has returned to China to continue his work there, and Mr. Klages, the well-known bird collector, is making a trip through French Guiana to the Amazon. On February 26, Capt. William Beebe left New York with a party, which will establish themselves at the Tropical Research Station of the New York Zoölogical Society in British Guiana, where work of much importance will be carried on.

IN view of the constantly increasing interest in ornithology and the increasing difficulty in obtaining specimens, it seems highly desirable that more information should be accessible regarding the extent and character of the larger collections of the United States and Canada. The student would thus have a better idea as to what material is available while museums and individual collectors by making known their desiderata would perhaps be enabled to fill their gaps.

One important collection has just been completely checked up and at our request the owner, Mr. J. H. Fleming of Toronto, has kindly given us his figures. This is one of the largest private collections and covers the birds of the entire world—a most commendable feature. We learn that it comprises about 25,000 specimens representing 5,377 species and 1,925 genera, as recognized in Sharpe’s ‘Hand List.’ When we note that there are, according to this authority, some 17,000 species of birds and 2,647 genera, we realize that Mr. Fleming has about one third of the known species and three fourths of the genera represented, the latter being evidence of the painstaking care that he has exercised in bringing together this notable series of specimens.

IN the Philadelphia Zoölogical Garden at the present time is a Naked-throated Bell-bird in full “song” if its peculiar calls may be so termed. These vocal efforts resemble exactly the strokes of a hammer on an anvil, the peculiar resonance of the ringing metal being perfectly reproduced.

There is also a specimen of the curious Kagu (_Rhinochetus jubatus_) of New Caledonia, the original type of which was sent to the Colonial Exhibition at Paris in 1860 by Mons. Latour, and described by Jules Verreaux. We do not know whether there are any specimens of this bird in any American Museum but there are none in either the U. S. National Museum or the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

The Kagu is closely related to the Sun Bittern (_Eurypyga helias_) though in appearance it looks more like a small pale gray heron. It is regarded as a very ancient and generalized type, with relationship to the Rails and Trumpeters.

We understand that another specimen is living in the New York Zoölogical Park.

WE learn from ‘The Emu’ that the annual meeting of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union was held in Melbourne, December 4, 1918, and was attended by eighteen members, exactly as many as were present at the business meeting of the A. O. U. in November. The officers elected were A. F. Basset Hull of Sydney, President; W. H. D. Le Soeuf, Hon. Secretary; Z. Gray, Hon. Treasurer; and Dr. J. A. Leach, Hon. Editor of ‘The Emu.’ The R. A. O. U. has had 39 members in military service of whom 5 lost their lives during the past year. The Union maintains a room at Temple Court in Melbourne where it keeps its library and collections including the celebrated White and Austin collections of Australian birds’ eggs. Well attended conversaziones are held at its room on the first Wednesday in each month and quarterly meetings at the National Museum. The report of the treasurer shows that the assets of the Union amount to over $9000.

THE collection of birds in the U. S. National Museum has recently passed the 200,000 mark. This collection has doubled since 1884 when the number of specimens reached 100,000 (see ‘The Auk,’ 1884, p. 403). In this connection it is interesting to recall that the British Museum collection was said to have contained 500,000 specimens ten years ago (Ibis, 9th ser., II. Jub. Suppl. p. 4, 1909).

THE Treasurer reports that less than forty copies of the last edition of the ‘Check-List of North American Birds,’ published in 1910, now remain on hand. Members who have not secured copies should do so at once as libraries are constantly ordering the book and the stock will doubtless soon be exhausted. It will probably be several years before another edition of the ‘Check-List’ is issued.

AT the recent session of Congress two new National Parks were established on areas previously set aside as National Monuments. These parks are the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Lafayette National Park on Mt. Desert Island on the coast of Maine. The latter reservation was previously known as the Sieur de Monts National Monument. This action will insure greater protection of the wild life and we hope will result in the publication at an early date of information concerning the birds of these interesting regions.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF A. O. U. MEMBERSHIP.—As shown by the list published in this number of ‘The Auk’ the A. O. U. now has members in all of the states except three (Arkansas, Delaware and Mississippi), and also in Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines and Samoa, as well as in all of the provinces of Canada except Alberta and Nova Scotia.

The foreign members, known as Honorary and Corresponding Fellows, number 85 and are widely distributed in all parts of the world. In America they are located in Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina; in Europe in all of the principal countries except Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the Balkan States; and in Africa in South Rhodesia and Transvaal. The Union also has representatives in Ceylon, Japan, the Federated Malay States, British Papua, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.—T. S. P.

THE American Game Protective Association, the sportsmen’s national organization, has done excellent work in branding as erroneous an Associated Press Dispatch to the effect that the Supreme Court at Washington has declared the Federal Migratory bird law unconstitutional. From their statement the country has been informed that “the so-called Federal Migratory bird law was repealed on July 3, 1917, when the President signed the Canadian treaty enabling act.” The new measure which superseded the old one is a better and bigger law with exactly the same object in view. It provides what the former law lacked, an efficient machinery for its enforcement, and the governments of this country and Canada are now squarely united in the protection of all the birds of the continent north of the Rio Grande.

“What happened at Washington was that the solicitor-general asked to have dismissed his own motion before the Supreme Court, which was to test the constitutionality of the original migratory bird law. It was no use arguing the case, because there is no longer any Weeks-McLean law.

“The federal regulations, therefore, which absolutely protect in this country the birds which are valuable to agriculture and which make open seasons for the migratory birds which are shot for sport, are still in effect and the Federal Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute any violations of these regulations.”

THE Delaware Valley Ornithological Club is endeavoring to collect all existing data bearing upon the birds of Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Information relative to any manuscript lists of early migration records, or published matter in out of the way places, will be gratefully received.

W. L. MCATEE wishes to announce that he has undertaken as a hobby the preparation of a dictionary of vernacular names applied to A. O. U. checklist birds. As the project involves the examination of practically the whole ornithological literature of America, the main purpose of this announcement is to elicit information as to whether the field is clear. It would be a great waste of time to have the same ground covered by more than one person.

Mr. McAtee has been collecting data of this nature for many years, and has published two glossaries of unusual bird names. He has also recently had the good fortune to receive for examination, through the courtesy of Mrs. Gurdon Trumbull and Mr. Samuel Scoville, Jr., the manuscript notes prepared by Gurdon Trumbull, for a second edition of his “Names and Portraits of Birds.” Still more recently, Mrs. Trumbull has with the greatest generosity turned over to him this book together with all of Mr. Trumbull’s miscellaneous notes on the habits and names of birds. This material will eventually be deposited in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Mr. McAtee will welcome suggestions relating to the whole project, and contributions, especially of unusual local names of birds.

THE Delaware Valley Ornithological Club held its twenty-ninth annual meeting at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in January, 1919. Officers elected were President, J. Fletcher Street, Vice-President, George H. Stuart 3d, Secretary Julian K. Potter and Treasurer, Samuel C. Palmer. Thirteen meetings were held during the year with an average attendance of twenty-two. Twenty-seven members entered the National Service during the war and one, Archibald Benners, 1st Lieut. Marines, was killed July 3, 1918.

American Ornithologists’ Union

Check-List of North American Birds

Last Edition, 1910

Cloth, 8vo, pp. 430 and two maps of North America, one a colored,
faunal zone map, and one a locality map.

The first authoritative and complete list of North American Birds
published since the second edition of the Check-List in 1895. The
ranges of species and geographical races have been carefully revised
and greatly extended, and the names conform to the latest rulings of
the A. O. U. Committee on Nomenclature. The numbering of the species
is the same as in the second edition.
Price, including postage, $3.00.

POCKET EDITION

A pocket Check-List (3¼ by 5¾ inches) of North American Birds with
only the numbers and the scientific and popular names. Alternate
pages blank for the insertion of notes. Flexible covers.
Price, including postage, 30 cents.

Address JONATHAN DWIGHT
134 W. 71st St. New York City

PUBLICATIONS OF THE

AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION

FOR SALE AT THE FOLLOWING PRICES:

=The Auk.= Complete set, Volumes I-XXXV, (1884-1918) in original
covers, $117.00. Volumes I-VI are sold only with complete
sets, other volumes, $3.00 each; 75 cents for single numbers.

=Index to The Auk= (Vols. I-XXVII, 1884-1900) and Bulletin of the
Nuttall Ornithological Club (Vols. I-VIII, 1876-1883), 8vo,
pp. vii + 426, 1908. Cloth, $3.75 post-paid; paper, $3.25.

=Index to The Auk= (Vols. XXVIII-XXXVII, 1901-1910), 8vo,
pp. xviii + 250, 1915. Cloth, $3.00; paper, $2.00.

=Check-List of North American Birds.= Third edition, revised,
1910. Cloth, 8vo, pp. 426, and 2 maps. $3.00. Second edition,
revised, 1895. Cloth, 8vo, pp. xi + 372. $1.15. Original edition,
1886. Out of print.

=Abridged Check-List of North American Birds.= 1889. (_Abridged
and revised from the original edition_). Paper, 8vo, pp. 71,
printed on one side of the page. 25 cents.

=Pocket Check-List of North American Birds.= (_Abridged from
the third edition_). Flexible cover, 3¼ × 5¾ inches. 30 cents.

=Code of Nomenclature.= Revised edition, 1908. Paper, 8vo,
pp. lxxxv. 50 cents.

Original edition, 1892. Paper, 8vo, pp. iv + 72. 25 cents.

=A. O. U. Official Badge.= An attractive gold and blue enamel
pin, with Auk design, for use at meetings or on other occasions.
Post-paid 50 cents.

Address JONATHAN DWIGHT

134 W. 71st St., New York, N. Y.

_The Cosmos Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts._