The Ornithological Journals.
Bird-Lore.XXI, No. 1. January-February, 1919.
When the North Wind Blows. By A. A. Allen.—Excellent photographs of winter birds and account of the actions of the White-breasted Nuthatch.
Our Responsibility. By Mabel Osgood Wright.—Another admirable account of winter bird life, in Connecticut.
Notes from a Traveller in the Tropics. Cuba to Panama. By Frank M. Chapman.
An Evening with Birds in Florida. By J. W. Lippincott.
The Great Horned Owl. By F. N. Whitman.—Account of nest and young.
Under ‘Migration and Plumages of North American Birds’ the Ravens are considered, and there is the usual large collection of Christmas lists.
The Condor.XX, No. 6. November-December, 1918.
Nesting of the Rocky Mountain Jay. By W. C. Bradbury.—A valuable account with numerous illustrations of the bird, its nest, eggs, and haunts.
Description of a new Lanius from Lower California. By Harry C. Oberholser.—Lanius ludovicianus nelsoni(p. 209), Todos Santos.
Mr. P. A. Taverner has a letter explaining his practice of employing only binomial nomenclature until the necessary specimens and comparisons are available to ensure beyond a doubt to which race the bird in question belongs (see beyondp. 316).
The Condor.XXI, No. 1. January-February, 1919.
A Return to the Dakota Lake Region. By Florence Merriam Bailey.—A continuation of this delightful article.
The Solitaires of Shasta. By W. Leon Dawson.—Good account of the bird and its nesting, with illustrations from photographs.
Nesting of the Short-eared Owl in Western Washington. By E. A. Kitchin.—Good illustrations of nest and young.
Problem: Do Birds Mate for Life? By J. Eugene Law.—The same suggestion is made, among others, as is offered in ‘The Auk,’ p. 138, in comment on a paper of similar title by F. C. Willard. A further extended comment on the same paper follows Mr. Law’s, which is by N. K. Carpenter and supports Mr. Willard, although the evidence except in one instance is no more convincing than was his.
Parasitism of Nestling Birds by Fly Larvæ. By O. E. Plath.—This is a valuable account of the same parasites referred to in a letter of Dr. W. W. Arnold in ‘The Auk’ for January, 1919, p. 147, giving a much fuller history of the insect.
Wilson Bulletin.XXX, No. 4. December, 1918.
Finding the Nest of the Knot. By W. Elmer Erkblaw.—On the Crocker Land Expedition, in 1916. Eggs now in the American Museum of Natural History.
Migration Records for Kansas Birds. By Bessie P. Douthitt.—This instalment covers the water birds only. The nomenclature does not follow the A. O. U. List but seems to be a compilation from various authors who have ideas of their own on this subject. The result is rather startling. In the Cranes for instance, the author divides our three species, which everyone has regarded as congeneric, into twogroupsLimnogeranusandGrus, names which by the way are synonyms. As we have stated before we can see no result but confusion in departing from the generally recognized A. O. U. names in local lists of North American species.
Revisory Notes on the List of the Birds of Nebraska. By Myron W. Swenk.—In this list too we find names which have not been authorized by the A. O. U. ‘Check-List.’
The Oölogist.XXXV, No. 12. December, 1918.
Observations on a Family of Winter Wrens. By Alex. D. McGrew.—Data on the feeding of the young, with photographs of the female, at Endeavor, Pa.
The Oölogist.XXXVI, No. 1. January, 1919.
Some Nesting Birds of the Palisades Interstate Park. By P. M. Silloway.
The Ibis.(XI Series), I, No. 1. January, 1919.
Notes on Collections of Birds in the British Museum, from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Part I. Tinamidæ—Rallidæ. By Charles Chubb.—This report covers collections made by Perry O. Simonds in the countries mentioned which have been presented to the Museum by Mr. Oldfield Thomas; as well as the Goodfellow Ecuador Collection and one made by the late Lord Brabourne in northwestern Peru.
The following new forms are described.Crypturus garleppi affinis(p. 8), Rio Blanca, Bolivia;Chamœpetes goudotii antioquiana(p. 22), Valdivia, Antioquia, Colombia;Odontophorus guianensis simonsi(p. 26), San Ernesto, Mapiri, Bolivia;O. g. panamensis(p. 26), Panama;O. g. buckleyi(p. 27), Sarayacu, eastern Ecuador;Zenaida auriculata noronha(p. 36), Fernando Noronha Island;Leptoptila verreauxi brevipennis(p. 45), Trinidad;Pardirallus rityrhynchus tschudii(p. 50), Junin, central Peru;Aramides cajanea grahami(p. 53); Para.
Birds from the North of France. By Capt. A. W. Boyd.—An annotated list covering a year’s service in the British Army in the departments of Pas de Calais, Somme and Nord.
On One of the Four Original Pictures from Life of the Reunion or White Dodo. By Lord Rothschild.—An interesting historical sketch with reproduction of the picture.
A Note on Capt. Beebe’s Monograph of the Pheasants. By H. J. Elwes.—A tribute to the work, with some important criticism on the value of certain races there recognized.
On the Eclipse Plumage ofSporophila pileata. By F. E. Blaauw.—Has distinct winter and summer plumages.
List of the Birds of the Canary Islands, with Detailed Reference to the Migratory Species and the Accidental Visitors.—Part I. Corvidæ-Sylviidæ. By David A. Bannerman.—This is a remarkably complete treatment of the subject, the author having made an exhaustive study of the literature and taken a number of trips to the islands. The present publication is preliminary to a proposed book on the subject.
In the reviews the editor of ‘The Ibis’ honors us by crediting ‘The Auk’ with some 300 more pages than actually appeared in the 1918 volume;we hope however that ere long we may be able to live up to his generous allowance!
Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club.CCXXXVII. November 30, 1918.
This number contains the annual review of ornithological activities by the Chairman, Mr. W. L. Sclater.
There are also descriptions of a number of new species, as follows: By W. L. Sclater;Buteo jakal archeri(p. 17), Waghar, Somaliland. By E. C. Stuart Baker;Bhringa remifer peracensis(p. 18), Telom, Malay Peninsula;Picus canus gyldenstolpei(p. 19); Sadiya, Assam;Thereiceryx lineatus intermedius(p. 19), Pahpoon, Burmah;Cyanops duvaceli robinsoni(p. 20), Klang, Malay Peninsula;Pitta cærulea hosei(p. 20), Mt. Dulit, Borneo. By Dr. Hartert;Corvus rhipidurusas a substitute forCorvus affinisRuppell (p. 210). By Charles Chubb;Gampsonyx swainsonii magnus(p. 21), Amotape, Peru;G. s. leonæ(p. 22), Leon, Nicaragua;Falco rufigularis petoensis(p. 22), Peto, Yucatan;F. r. pax(p. 22), Charuplaya, Bolivia. By G. M. Mathews:Diomedia exulans westralis(p. 23), W. Australia, off Albany;Acanthiza pusilla peroni(p. 23), Peron Peninsula, Australia;Leggeornis lamberti hartogi(p. 24), Dirk Hartog Island, Australia;Urodynamis taitensis belli(p. 24); Norfolk Island.
Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club.CCXXXVIII. January 3, 1919.
Mr. Chas. Oldham gave an extended account of the breeding of the Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis).
Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker discusses the races ofAlcedo menintingof which he recognizes six.A. m. coltarti(p. 39), from Saddya, Assam andA. m. scintillans(p. 38), Bankasoon, are described as new.
Dr. Hartert proposedAegithalos caudatus pyrenaicusfor a new race recently described in ‘Novitates Zoölogicæ’ but inadvertently not named.
Mr. Chas. Chubb described:Sclerurus mexicanus certus(p. 41) Guatemala, Volcan de Agua;S. m. macconnelli(p. 41), Ituribisi River, British Guiana;S. m. peruvianus(p. 41), Yurimaguas, east Peru;S. m. bahiæ(p. 42), Bahia, Brazil; and the new genusPoliolæma(p. 42), forMyrmotherula cinereiventris(Scl. & Salv.).
Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club.CCXXXIX. January 29, 1919.
Mr. Stuart Baker described as new,Penthoceryx sonnerati waiti(p. 47), Ceylon. Dr. Hartert;Serinus buchanani(p. 50), Maktan, East Africa. Mr. Chas. Chubb;Dendrocincla bartletti(p. 50), Chamicuros, east Peru;D. fuliginosa wallacei(p. 52), Para, Brazil;Xenops genibarbis cayoensis(p. 52), Cayo, British Honduras.
British Birds.XII, No. 7. December, 1918.
The Moults and Sequence of Plumages of the British Waders. By Annie C. Jackson.—Northern Phalarope, Stilt, Avocet and Godwit. Concluded in the next number, which contains the Curlew, Snipe and Woodchuck.
Avicultural Magazine.X, No. 3. January, 1919.
Colour Change in the Plumage of Birds. By Dr. V. G. L. Van Someren.—A most important reply to a paper by Dr. A. G. Butler which claimed color change in a Weaver Bird (Pyromelana) and referred toTuracusas a good illustration of the passing of pigment up the vanes of fully formed feathers. The author states that numerous experiments with the crimson feathers of the latter genus from both skins and living birds failed to show any loss of color. Similar experiments in the Philadelphia Zoölogical Garden, it might be added, resulted in the same way. In regard to the Weaver, all Dr. Van Someren’s birds effected the change by molt as might be expected, and they ate many of the feathers which accounts for the lack of cast feathers in many accounts of supposed color change. These observations should settle this vexed question.
Avicultural Magazine.X, No. 2. December, 1918.
The Pigeons of the Gambia. By E. Hopkinson.
The Emu.XVIII, Part III. January, 1919.
Haunts of the Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus Gould). By Sidney W. Jackson.
An interesting account of a trip through Western Queensland with a list of the birds observed. Illustrations of the nest, eggs and young of the Kite.
Notes on Birds from the Gouldian-Gilbert Type Locality, North Australia. By A. J. Campbell.—This paper is an account of a collection made by Wm. McLennan near Port Essington, the spot where Gilbert collected so many of the birds described by Gould. In commenting on the type localities quoted by Mr. Mathews, the author calls attention to the fact that they do not always agree with those given by Gould in his original descriptions, in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Zoölogical Society. Mr. Campbell would do well to consult the paper prepared by Mr. Mathews and the editor of ‘The Auk.’ (Austral Avian Record, Vol. I, No. 6-7), in which the history of the Gould collection is given and individual specimens selected as the types. The collection is not at Washington, as Mr. Campbell supposes, but at Philadelphia, in the museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences, where it has been ever since it left Europe. The fact that Gould described a few birds from the northwest coast of Australia, before Gilbert reached Pt. Essington, as stated by Mr. Campbell, is interesting and would seem to indicate that the latter should not be quoted as the type locality. In such cases, when all the specimens were labelled Pt. Essington, we selected one of them as the type, as it seemed likely that the labelling might be inaccurate and no other possible types seemed to be in existence.
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 ofSaxicola auritaandS. 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.