194s t•ece•t'Literature .. •.•.: [7ß7

againrecaptured until December 14, 1942. Uponthis latter datethe twobii'ds were trapped togetheras simultaneousreturns. And • interestingnew obser- vation was made, also: 4•99263 had retu•ed in typical female plumage.-- G. H•raoov P•ss, 99 W•renton Avenue, H•tiord, Connecticut. .

An Eight Year Old SongSparrow.--0n April 5, 1943I tooka returnSong Sparow at my Station bandedby me on April 27, 1936. Since this could not have been hatchedl•ter than the summerof 1935, it is now in its eighth year.--KxT•r C. H•v•, Coh•set, M•chusetts.

RECENT LITERATURE . " Reviewsby DonaldS. Fa•ner' BANDING STUDIES 1. Experiment on Transporting Alpine Swifts, Micropus melbameZ_ha L., from Solothurn, Switzerland to Lisbon, Portugal. (Verfrachtungsversuch reit Alpenseglern,Micropus vwlba melba L., Solothurn-Lissabon.) A. Schifferli. 1942. D•r OrniihologischeBeobachier, 39: 145-150. Twenty-eight were trapped and markedtwo weeksbefore the egg-layingtime and transportedby airplane to Lisbon,Portugal wherethey were released. Twelve returned to the nestingsites where they were trapped. The first three returnedwithin three days; the otherswithin the next few days. At least twenty of the twenty-eight were more than oneyear old (bandingdata). The birdswere markedwith red ink and by glueinga white chickenfeather on the head. Of particularimportance is the fact that nine of the twenty-eight birds were trapped on nests. Of these nine, sevenreturned after bein• transportedto Portugal. It is unfortunatethat ßthe war hasinterrupted this interestingresearch. 2. Banding Studies on the Alpine Swift, Micropus melbamelbv, L., Age and Returns to Nesting Sites. (Beringungsergebnisseder Alpensegler, Micropus melba •dba L., Alter und Nistplatztreue.) YI. Arm 1942. Der OrnithologischeBeobachter, 39: 150-162. During the period, 1925-1940, 2,556 birds were banded. Constanttrapping on a churchroof in Solothurnyielded many returns;eighty-four were recapturedin at leasttwo differentseasons after banding; eighty-four were recaptured once after the year in which they were banded. Seventybirds banded as young were recaptured or recovereddead; the greatestage was fourteen years; mean age was 4.53 years. Bandingdata es- tablishthe fact that youngbreed when two yearsold. Sixty-twonesting birds were observed(by trapping) for more than one season;thirty-three used the same nesting site during the seasonsin which they were observed;thirteen changednesting sites; in sixteencases observations were uncertain. Two birds retainedtheir nestingsites for ten seasons.A very fruitful bandingproject. 3. Some Age Records for Banded Birds. Amelia R. Laskey. 1943. The Migrant, 14: 5-8. This paper summarizes229 recordsof ChimneySwifts and twenty-five passefinespecies in which an age of three and one-halfyears or more was attained. Eighty-one Chimney Swifts (Chaeturapdagica (L.)) were at leastfour yearsold; two were at leastfive; and there wereindividual records of six,seven, nine and eleven years. Otherinteresting records are: TuftedTitmouse (Baelophusbicolor (L.)), six years; Carolina Wren (Thryothorusludovicianu, ludoviclanus(Lath.)), five years;Robin (Turdu, migratoriusmi•ratorius L.), 78] •,u Literature 3ulyBird-Banding ten years; Yellow Warbler (Dendroica aestivaaestiva (Gmelin)), five years; Northern YellowThroat (Geothlypistrichas brachydactyla (Swainson)), six years; Indigo Bunting (Passerinacyanea (L.)), six years. 4. Ageof SomeMore British Birds. DavidLack. 1943. BritishBirds, 36: 193-197. A total of 4,789 Starlings,(Sturnus vulgaris (L.)), were bandedas nestlings;1.8% of thesewere recovered. Of 4,854 trapped and bandedas adults, 3.1% were recovered. The age data obtained from this study show that the life expectancyoJ any Starlingregardless of age,providing it has survivedto the first of August following hatching, is 1.5 years. In the case of the Song Thrush, ( Tu•dusericetorum ericetorum) Turton, 1.6% of 13,589banded nestlings were re- covered. The data indicate inconclusivelythat the morta.llty during the first year (startingAugust 1 after hatching)may be higher than in ensuingyears. The author'scalculations show that a productionof 3.2 fledglingsper pair per year is necessaryto maintain the populationat a constantsize.

MIGRATION. 5. The Occurrence and Migration of the Blackbird. (NordiskeSolsorters (Turdus m. merula)Forekomst og Track.) Chr. Kroger. 1940. DanskOrni- thologi.*kForenings Tidsskrift, 34: 114-153. A changein the habits of the :Blackbird,Turdus merula merula (L.),. has occurredin that the Specieshas ins •reasedits breedinghabitats to includeparks, villages, etc. This chs.nge became apparent in Denmark in 1888-1895, in southern Sweden in 1913-1914, and in Finland in 1924-25. As a resultof this expansionin typesof breedinghabitats therehas been an increasein the total population.Banding results and lig.ht- houserecords were usedin studyingthe migrationof the species. The spring flight passesthrough Denmark from February to April and is larger than the autumnflight. The directionof the springflight is from southwestto northeast acrossthe Kattegat. In fall the Swedishpopulation north of V/inernand V/item as well as the Finnishbirds migrate westwardto southwesternNorway and then acrossthe North Seato England. Birds which nest in southernSweden migrate directlyacross the North Seato Englandor southwardover northwestern . Hencethe fall flight throughDenmark is smallerthan the springflight andpasses from east to west. The majority of migratory birds winter in England. Some males, females,and juveniles winter in Denmark; further north only the old maleswinter. More malesthan femalesare killed at lighthousesin springwhereas in fall malesand femalesare killed in equalnumbers. ' The oldestbanded bird recoveredwas six years. Fall migration is acceleratedby the cool northeast. east. and southeastwinds; spring migration by the warm south and southwest winds.The authorhas an interestingand ingeniousmethod of presenting lighthouserecords. 6. The Waxwing in Switzerland During the Winter of 1941-42, (Le Jaseurboreal en Suissependant l'hiver 1941-42.) P. G•roudet. 1942. Nos Oiseaux,164: 185-192. In its normalwinter migrationthe Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulusgarrulus (L.)) is observedno further south than northeastGermany, In the wintersof 1903-04, 1908-09, 1913-14, 1914-15, 1918-19, 1923-24, 1931-32, and 1941-42 "invasions"by this speciesoccurred in Switzerland. These "in- vasions"are correlatedwith increasesin the populationin the breedingrange in northern ,Finland, Russia, and . The 1941-42 "invasion'• beganin Swedenin September;in Octoberthe birdsappeared in Finland,Norway, and Denmark with maximum numbers observed in November and December. They arrivedin East Prussiain the lastpart of Octoberand in Holland,Belgium, and Scotlandin. early November. The "invasion" reachedSouth Germany,. Vo,.1943xxv Rece• Literature [79

Switzerland,and 'Hungaryin Decemberand extendedto Croatia and Italy in January. The first record for Switzerland was December 18. There were fourteenrecords in December,at least sixty-ninein January,nine in February, and one in March.- 7. The Snowy Owl Migration of 1941-42, a Report of the Snowy Owl Committee. L. L. Snyder. 1943. Th• Wilson Bulletin, 55: 8-10. "The migration of 1941-42 resulted in concentrationsof Snowy Owls (Nyctea nyctea (L.)) in the St. Lawrencevalley, alongthe New Englandcoast, and aboutthe shoresof the Great Lakes. The sourceof this flight was probablyBaffin Island, SouthamptonIsland, and the region about the Straits and HudsonBay portion of Ungava." The birds appearedin pronouncedflight in western Quebecin early to mid-October,later in easternQuebec; Maritime Provincesin early October;New England in mid-October;New York in mid-November;Michigan in late November; and Minnesota in late October. -Maximum numbers were oresent in the various sections two or three •'eeks after the above mentioned time. ß

ECOLOGY AND POPULATION STUDIES ß 8. Note Concerning tl•e Decrease in Numbers of tl•e Hoopoe. (Note sur les Causesde la Rarefacationde la Huppe.) ChristianFjerdingstad. 1939. Ala•da, ll: 50-54. ' The boopoe( Up•pa epopsL.) has almostdisappeared from northern , westernGermany, the Netherlands,and Scandinavia. During the past century this specieswas commonin France with its greatestabundance alongthe Mediterranean.The author does not accept the a•gumentthat it has disappearedfrom much of the northernpart of its rangebecause of changesin climate or availablefood. In his opinionthe decreasein populationis to be attributed •o the increasein the starling (Stu•nu.•vulgaris L.) population due to systematic destructionof birds of prey and to the protection of starlings in Scandinavia. Starlings and hoopoescompete for nesting holes. However the starlings begin nesting in March whereasthe hoopoesdo not arrive until the middleof April. Alsoit is possiblethat the starlingsand hoopoes compete for food. The latter still persist in southeasternSweden where the forests are coniferouswith no arborealnesting holes. Hoopoesnest in rock holeswhereas the starlingswill not. The boopoehas one further advantagein that it is able to defend nesting holesnear the groundwhich starlingsare unable to-defend• When the ground is dry hoopoeswill also nest in rabbit burrowsif other holes are not available. This occursonly in the southernpart of its •ange. Because of its slight edge in nesting•ersatility the author feels that the boopoewill not be eliminated completelydue to competitionby the starlings. 9. A Comparative Consideration o• the Status o• the Hoopoe (Upupa cpopsepops Linn.) in and Ireland over a Period of a Hundred Years (1839-1938),witha Review of Breeding Records. William E. Glegg. 1942. Ibis, 6: 390-433. The author has made a critical examination of the availableliterature and has listed 1,328 records. Most of the recordsare from April and September. Amongthe springrecords 90.5% are from Englandand Wales,4.7% fromScotland, and 4.8%from Ireland. Amongthe autumnrecords 76.5% are from England and Wales, 17.7% from Scotland, and 5.8% from Ireland. Great Britain and Ireland lie just north of the normal nestingrange of the species. The author believesthat there was a gradualincrease. in the number of visitants from 1839-1863 with the peak occurring from 1859-1865 and that during the ensuingseventy-five years there was a gradual decrease which c•n be corrqlatedwith the decreasein the continentalbreeding population. Examination of the data leaves little doubt of the decrease since 1863.. However 80] Rec*;ntLiterature JulyBird-B•nding it appearspossible that the "increase"from 1839-1863 may be only an increase hi numbersof observersand the recordingof observations. 10. An Index to the Thames Kingi%her Recovery.--L. S. V. Venables -and U. M. Wykes. 1943. British Birds, 36: 153-155. A superficialthough interestingpiece of work. A surveyof Kingfishers,Alcedo arthis ispi•ta L., along sixty-one miles of the Thames during 1934 breedingseason gave a •density of 'one pair per ] .8 miles which is assumedto be a normal populationdensity.- In 1939-40 there was a severefrost in which the Thames was frozen. In the 1940 breedingseason the densitywas one pair per 30.5 miles; in 1941, one pair per 8.7 miles; 1942, onepair per 4.7 miles. 11. Birds of the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. Harry G. Anderson• - William S. Feehey, Theodore M. Sperry, and John Carenbusch. 1942. Trans- actionsof the WisconsinAcademy of Sciences,Arts and Letters, 34: 5-22. The University of WisconsinArboretum contains1,137 acres of diverse habitats in- cluding open water, marshland,wet meadows,old fields, woody thickets, and woodland. Perhaps there is no single area in southern Wisconsinwhich is subjectedto as intensive ornithologicalobservation as this area. This paper summarizes records of birds observed in the Arboretum between 1933 and 1941. Twenty-onespecies are listedas permanentresidents, nineteen as winter residents Only, eighty-nineas migrants,and eighty-sevenas breedingsummer residents. Data. are given on the densityof twenty-fivenesting species for 150 acresof censusareas for threeseasons (1934-36). Densitiesof nestsof all speciesvaried with habitat from 0.45 to 2.80 nestsper acre. Springand fall migrationdates are givenfor 181 species. This paper shouldprove a reliablesource of information for southern Wscionsin. 12. A Hawk Census on Texas Panhandle Highways. Philip F. Allna and Palmer R. Sime. 1943. The IFilson Bzdleti•, 55: 29-39. The broad ex- pansesof the TexasPanhandle make it ideal for this type of work. During a thirty-nine month period (1938-42) fifteen speciesof a possibleeighteen were recorded. Hawks wereseen at the rate of 232.5 per 1,000 miles. For the entire period Swainson'sHawk (Bu•eo swainsoniBonaparte) and the Marsh Hawk (Circus hudsonius(L.)) were most numerous,41.7% and 22.3% respectively. _Marshand FerruginofisRough-legged Hawks (Buteoregalis (Gray)) were most numerousin winter; the Marsh Hawk in spring;Turkey Vulture (Cathartesaura septe•trionalisV;'ied), Mississippi Kite (Iclinia misi;ippiensis(Wilson)) and ßSwainson's Hawk in summer;and Marsh Hawksagain in fall. ß1•. Extinctand Endangered Mammals and Birds of the UpperGreat Lakes Region. A. W. Schorger. 1942. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academyof Sciences,Arts, and Letters, 34: 23-44. Thispaper contains scholarly discussionsof the declineand presentstatus of the CanadaSpruce Grouse (Ca- •achite•canaden•is canace L.), Prairie Chicken(T•mpanuchus c•pido americanus Reich),and the SandhillCrane (C-rus c•naden•/s tabida Peters) as well as the declineand extinctionof the PassengerPigeon (Ectopist•s •igrato•i•s L.) and the Wild Turkey (Meleagrisgo21oyavo silve. stris Vieillot). Thispaper is the result o{ bibliographicwork of a most difficult nature. 14. The Nesting of African Birds in Association with Other Living Things. R. E. Moteau. 1942. 1/r/s,April 1942: 240-263. The author has •ttempted to classifythese relationships into fourgroups of associations:(1) With insects(three types of associations);(2) With spiders;(3) With other speciesof birdsand (4) With humanbeings. Thispaper provides an ex•e!lentintroduction to a very interestingfield of bird behavior. l•4aVol. XIV Recea!Literature [81

PHYSIOLOGY -' 15..Regulation of Spring Migration in Juncos. Albert Wolfson. 1942. The Condor,44: 237-263. A seriesof ingeniousexperiments has been performed with residentand migrant racesof Junco ore,anus Townsend. In one group of experimentsmigrants (throbbed,shufeldti, montanus, and oreganus)and residents -(pinosus)were subjectedto artificially increasedlengths of day. Birds of the migrant raceswhich respondedwith recrudescenceof gonadsand laying down of •fat migrated north, rd, when released,two months earlier than the normal time of migration. Bi- '- of the residentrace respondedwith prematuresong, breaking .of flocks,and pr ,mature pairing. In another group of experimentsbirds were withheld for tw- monthsafter the normal date for springmigration and then released. Thesemigrated immediatelyin spite of the fact that the gonadswere already in breeding condition. In considerationof these and other data the 'authorpropos s that length of day is the principalexternal factor involvedin the regulationof springmigration. As daysincrease in lengththere is an increase in total general activity accompaniedby an increasein duration of activity. of the hypothalamus. There is then a resulting"increase in producti6n,or release, or both,of gonadotropicand other hormonesfrom the pituitary." Theseproduce physiologicalchanges in the birds manifestedby the recrudescenceof the gonads andthe laying downof fat. Thesephysiological changes produce a "physiologic state" which providesthe internal stimulusfor migration. ?'heauthor suggests that the gonads may not be an essential •rt ofthe "physi- olo;•icstate." This is supportedby the fact that castratedbirds have been observedto migrate. He suggestsfurther that migrationand breedingare sepa- rate entities in the physiologyof the bird although both may be stimulatedby p'tu'tary activity. One can postulate that in the phylogeny of a species,mi- gration was imposedon an already existingbreeding cycle and 'timed' to it through the action of the environment and natural selection." Comparative studiesreveal characteristicdifferences in the gonadJulcycles of resident-and migrant races. At the time of departure on spring migration the mean volume of testes of migrant raceswas found to be four cram whereasthe testes of the resident races had a mean volume of 220 cram. The author suggeststhat such differencescould be due to differencesin thresholdof responseto length of day rather than to inherent rhythm. It is admirably suggestedthat becauseof'these differencesin the migrant and residentraces the "length of day-hypothalamus- pituitary mechanism"must be appliedwith cautionin any generalconsideration of migration. This is an outstandingcontribution to experimentalornitholog5,. It is hoped ßthat the problemcan be exploitedfurther perhapswith the useof anteripr:pi- tuitary fractions and .hormones. 16. Bird Weights and Egg Weights. Dean Amadon. 1943. The Auks 60: 221-234. Sincethere are very few speciesfor which sufficientdata on-egg weights are available to insure statistically rehable conclusionsthe author ha, examinedmethods for computingegg weightsfrom egg measurements.'The methods consideredwere: (1) Schoenwetter'sformula, W = 1/2(LB • q- t•) in whichW is the weightof the egg,L is the lengthof the egg,B is the breadthof the egg,and w is the weightof the eggshell. Sincein practisethe weightof the egg shell in the small passefinespecies is •about5% the formula reducesto .W = 0.5(LB • q- 0.05W): 0.5128LBL (2) Bergtold'sformula, W -- 11/21(LB •) S (Samesymbols). S is the specificgravity of a fresh eggfound to be 1.075in hens'eggs and 1.043in fourteenspecies of native (Colorado)birds. This reduces to W = 0.5463LB a for the latter. (3) Worth's formula for the volume of an egg,V = 1/6 LB•-- 15% "whichreduces to W = 0.4749LB•" (presumablyby S2] RecentLiterature JulyBird-Bandin•

the use of a specificgravity ralue of about 1.067). (4) "The formula,4/3•LB •, that of a prolate spheroid,has alsobeen used." The author then logicallycon- 'cluded that for eggswith the sameshape the size is equal to LB • multiplied by a constant. Sincehe was not interestedin eggweights in themselvesbut rather in the relation betweenegg weights and body weights, LB s, the "egg value" was used directly with the omissionof the use of constants which are difficult to compute •Sth accuracy. In the casesof fifteen members of the Subfamily Emberizinaeand sevenforms in the SubfamilyOdontophorinae it was found that egg size (actually egg value) is a non-linearfunction of body size. In each of thesegroups a logarithmicgraph of eggvalues (Y) againstbody weight (X) is a straight line, i.e. log Y = log b • a log X or Y -- bW.• where a and b are con- stants. Constant a expressesthe ratio of the rate at which egg size increasesto the rate at which body sizeincreases from speciesto species. This is shownto be constantamong the Emberizinaevarying from twelveto forty gramsin weight. The value of a would be differentfor different groupsof birds. The constantb is a constantof proportion"which in this casereflects the variationsin relative egg size" i.e. the relation of egg size to body weight. This is influenced by a numberof factorsand is very variablealthough constant among closely related speciesor in groupsin which the factors affecting egg size are similar. Since eggsize is a functionof body weight it is possibleto calculatethe latter from the egg sizeproviding the valuesfor a and b are known. The author's calculations for the Emberizinaeare convincingand are accuratewithin 95%. This inter- estingpaper opensan extensivefield for ornithologicalresearch. The statement that the formulaof a prolatespheroid is 4/3•LB• is obviouslyan oversight. It shouldbe 4/3•'L/2'B•/4 or 1/6•LB •. 17. Color Discrimination in Canaries. H.H. Shoemaker. 194.3. Illinois StateAcad. ScieaceTrans., 35(2): 217-219. Descriptionand chart of two-choice problembox in whichsix canarieswere trained. "Gettingout of the foreign problembox where all visual contactwith its fellows was cut off and returning to the home cageto which it was accustomedprovided sufficientmotivation for rapidlearning." Punishmentfor goingtowards the wrongcolor was one minute's imprisonment. Care wastaken to avoid the "one sidehabit." "Canaries learned to discriminatebetween red and greenlight as transmittedthrough Wratten tricolor light filters •:' and B. No matter how much the intensitieswere varied with one or the other light sourceentirely removedthe birds continuedpositive to the colorto whichthey had beentrained and negativeto the onewhich they were trained to avoid."•M. M. N•cs. 18. Hearing Ranges of Four Species of Birds. Ernest P. Edwards. 1943. The Auk, 60: 239-241. Observationswere made on one .Canvas-back(Nyroca vailstheta (Wilson)),one Great HornedOwl (B•tbovirginianus (Gmelin)), three Prairie Horned Larks (Otocorisalpestris praticola I-Ienshaw),and one (Plectrophenax nivalls (L.)). The followingapproximate frequency rangeswere found: Canvas-back,190 to 5,200 cyclesper second;Great I-Iorned Owl, 60-7,C00c.p.s.; Horned Lark, 350-7,600c.p.s.; SnowBunting, 400-7,200 c.p.s. It is hopedthat theseexperiments will be continuedso that sufficient determinationscan be madeto establishstatistically reliable means. 19. Effect of TestosteroneProplonate on Territoriality in Flocksof Ring Doves. Mary A. Bennett. 1943. Illinois StateAcad. S•ienceTrans, 35(2): 193-194. The author concludesfrom her experimentsthat are recorded in detailin Ecology1941 that the injectionof this androgen"in low ranking membersof ring dove flocksincreased territorialism in the flocksand contributed to an increasein the developmentof a peck-righttype of social hierarchy." --M. M. N•c•.. 1•Vol. XI¾ RecentLiterature [83-

REPRODUCTION 20. Breeding I-labits o[ McCown's Longspur. Francis Weldon Micke3. 1943. The Auk, 60: 181-209. This paper summarizesobservations of the breedinghabits of McCown'sLongspur, Rhynchophcn•s mcco•mi (I,awrence), in a forty acre field east of Laramie, Wyomingduring the summersof 1938, 1939, and 1940. This field had never been plowed and had not been grazedfor ten years. A total of forty-five nests was observed. The males arrived early in April and became.numerousby the third weekin April. "McCown'sLongspurs, being gregariouslyinclined, tended to retain somethingof a colonialformation even during the breedingseason. Within the looselyformed flocks each pair was m possessionof its own territory; but as soonas the young were on the wing in fall, territorieswere abandoned. The male'sright to histerritory was established primarilyby the characteristicflight song. The firstmales to settleestal•fished excessivelylarge territorieswhich were diminishedin s•zeby establishmentof territories by newcomers. As territories decreasedin size they were defended more vigorously. In congestedareas males [requently fought in orderto main- tain territories;in lesscongested areas the flight songand occasionallychasing an intrude•were sut•ieient. "Territorial defenseby male longspurswas directed againstintruding male longspurs,who by their songand actionsindicated that they were trying to establishthemselves on a territory. It was not directed againstnon-competing ma•es, nor those feeding immature birds, nor against males of otherspecies frequenting the area." After the maleshad settledon territories they seldomleft; they sangfrom or over their territoriesat frequentintervals during the day and well into the evening. "With the beginningof each new nesting cycle the male engagedin fligbt song. Prior to the last brood of the seasonsong was much abbreviated; . . .". A new nest was constructedfor each. brood;usually somedistance from the old but within or closeto the boundaries containedfour; andtwo containedfive. Incubationwas performed by •he female only. The incubationperiod was twelve days. The female beganincubation before laying the last egg or immediately afterwards. During incubationthe maleguarded the nestfrom a nearbyrock, engaged in flight song,and defended the territory. The fear instinct was evident in the young at nine days. The youn•usua•lly ßleft the neston the' •enth day after hatching. Young were fed entirelyon insects,mostly grasshoppers. Both parentscared for the youngand removedexcrement from the nest. A total of 153 eggswas laid in forty-five nestsduring the three years of observation;ninety-two (60%) were hatched; seventy-onebirds (46% of eggslaid) werefledged. This is a rate of 1.58 birds per nest. The number of young fledgedper pair per year is not given. The author considerscrows, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, badger, and weaselto be predatorson this species. The authoris to be commendedfor a fine pieceof esearch. ' 21. The Reproductive Cycles of the British and Continental Races of the Starling. W.S. Bullough. 1942. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc.London, Set. B, Biol. Sci., 231 (580): 165-246. An admirablestudy basedon color-bandingof someindividuals and the collectingand microscopicexamination of the gonads of 786specimens of Sturnusvulgaris largely taken from communal roosts. Sketches 'andphotomierographs illustrate the reproductivecycles of bothsexes and various agesof Continentaland British birds. ß ' "The gonadsof the first-year British and Continental starlingsbegin to grow 'in February,but the rate of growthin the Britishbird is greaterthan that in ithe Continental. The' gonad• of'the adult British starlifigs'donot regressso far •n summeras thoseof the Continentalbirdg, and they start to growprecoci6usly S4] RecentLiterature July in early autumn. The gonadsof the adult Continentalstarlings do not beginto growuntil Januaryor February, the time whenthe gonadgrowth of the British birds is accelerated. In February and March the gonadsof the adult British birdsgrow muchmore rapidly than thoseof the Continentalbirds," p. 165. British Starlingswear off the tips of their neckfeathers through hole-exploration. Their beaksturn yellow in fall, thoseof the migratory •birdsnot until late winter. Male Starlingshave brownisheyes, females yellowish; males have more pointed throat and breast feathers than females, and when the beak is yellow, the base of the mandiblesis greyin the males. FemaleStarlings breed at oneyear, males not until two years. The British Starling is sedentary. In fall all adult femalesappeared to be paired, "and the surplusof unpairedmales also occupied holes and staked out territories," p. 227. Some British Starlings go to roost in holes at about the time ContinentalStarlings leave for roostsfifteen milesdistant; they get lesslight and exercisethan do the foreigners,yet their gonadsdevelop more precociously. Three nights spentnear a large roost did not substantiatel:•owan's idea that peacereigns in the country. "It was found that only during half an hour juht beforedawn on one of the nightswas the roostentirely quiet. The conclusionwas reached that as a normal thing, althoughlarge numbers of birdsare alwaysasleep, there are thousandsof starlingswhich, owingto their own inherentrestlessness or to such disturbing factorsas hunting owlsor suddenrainstorms, are wide awake,continually chatter- ing, and frequently flying about even in ex•tremedarkness," p. 231. Prof. Rowan in a letter to the reviewer points but that collectionsshould be made in February rather than l•arch in orderto be comparablewith his findings where London Starlingshad much larger gonadsthan those in the country (1937, 1938). Interesting suggestionsare made as to the influenceon migration of increase of light and developmentof the gonads. These two populationsof Starlings are divided into subspeciesby the author on the basis of their physiological differences. It seemsprobable that both racesm•y be presentin America. A paper well worth carei'ulstudy and full of suggestionsas to researchon our own $tarlings.--M. 1•I. Nxcr. 22. Colletopteraaffi•is at the Nest. R. E. l•loreau. 1942. The Ostrich, 13: 137-147. The author presentsa study basedon 900 hoursof observationof a nestingcolony of Indian or Square-tailedSwifts, Colletoptera affinis (J. E. Gray) at Tanga on the coastof Tanganyika Territory in easternAfrica. These gre- gariousbirds build nestsin clusterson the topsof wallsbeneath the eaves. Laying beganbetween June 9 and 19. Eggs were laid at irregular intervals a•eraging 1.5 days. Both parentsincubated, relieving each other and occasionallysitting on the nest together. During daylight hours,eggs were incubatedabout 70% of the time. Incubation time was about t3'enty-three'days and the fledgling periodabout thirty-eight days. Nearly two-thirdsof the periodsduring which neither of the birds were on the nest were less than ten minutes. The maximum periodsof non-incubationwere 166 and 173 minutes. "'V•s•ts ' w•th ' food (brought by both birds), after broodinghad ceased,averaged 1.7, 2.4, and 3.4 per 200 minute periodat nestsof one,two, and three youngrespectively equivalent to 1.7,1.2, and 1.1 per young bird. Thisshows once a[ain that a solitaryyoung bird tends to get more food than one of a brood." •ess than half of the eggs producedfledged young. A nice piece of work. 23. The Breeding Biology of Micropuscaffer streubelii Hartlaub, the White- rurnpedSwift. 1•. 1•. Moreau. 1942. Ibis, 6: 27-49. Thispaper is based on 1,100 hoursof observationsby African observersunder the supervisionof the Vol.1943XI•V RecentLiteratur• [85 author.All nestsobserved were old nests of Hirund6abby•inic• taken o•/er •nd relined with feathers by the swifts and frequently used year after year. The temperaturemaxima in Amani where the studieswere made vary from 21.3øC.in July •nd Augustto 27.3øC.in February; minlmavary from 14.4øC. in Augustto 18.1øC.in March. The differencebetween th• longest•nd shortest day is thirty-sevenminutes. The annualrain•all is eighty inches,forty of which falls duringMarch, April, •nd May. Althoughthe birds•tre resident throughout the year nestingoccurs only from Septemberto March. There are one,two, or threebroods per season. A new clutchmay be star•edwithin threeor four days after the departureof the young. If young or eggsare removeda new clutch is startedinamediately. Clutchesinv•iably containtwo eggs;the secondegg is laidtwo days after the first. "Nestingsuccess" was about 75 %. Of ninety-seven eggsob served, eighty-six hatched andseventy-four young sur• ired. Incub•ttion time is 20 •- 1-22 •- I days;the mean is twenty-onedays. Both parentsincu- bate. Departuresfrom the nest by the incubatingp•rent without relief were morefrequent th•n departures•'hen relievedby tt•e otherparent. Thirty-one percento• the unincubatedintervals were l½•er th•n onehour. Oneclutch was left for periodsof 238, 317, and •œ5 minutesin additionto numerousshorter periods;both eggs hatched. The actualpercentage o•' d•ylight time during which eggswere incubated varied from 17-90% for all nestsobserved. Brooding con- tinued for a week after hatching. Flodgling periodwas thirty-five to forty-seven days. Youngwere fed at the r•te of 1.5times per young per 200 minute interval; principalitems of foodwere parasitic Hymenoptera, ants, and fleabeetles. A very interestingpaper. 24. A ManagedCliff SwallowColony in SouthernWisconsin. Irvin 0. Buss. 1942. The WiL•on B•dletin, 5-i: 153-161. 'This is an accountof the interestingcolony of Cliff Swallows(Petr•chelidon albifrons albifr ns Rafinesque) on the sideof a barn on the farm of Mr. Cory Bodemanat Deerfield,Wisconsin. This colonyhas grownfrom one pair in May, 1904to its presentsize of more than 4,000 birds. The colonyhas been aided by maintainingmud poolsfor nestingmaterial and by destroyingall but a t'ewold nests each vest. Theseold nestsare heavily parasitized but will be used again by the birds if'they are allowed to remain. The few which a•e allowed to remain are for notection in case of suddencold in spring.Slats are providedfor attaching'thenests. English Sparrowsare controlled. This colonywould providean excellentopportunity for an extensi• e study of the species. 25. The Family Lit•e of Central American Woodpeckers.. AlexanderF. Skutch. 1943. ScientificMonthly, April, 1943: 358-364. 'œheauthor classifies Central Americanwoodpeckers into three groupson the basisof family life: (1) Singlepair attendingnest; individuals past l•est]ingstage sleep singly; male attendsnest at night. Waglet'sWoodpecker (Centurus subelegans (Bp.)), Hoffmann'sWoodpecker (C. hoffmanni(Cab.)), Golden-frontedWoodpecker (C. aurif•ons (Wagl.)), Costa Rican Woodpecker(Chloronerpes rubigino•s (Swains.)),Pilested Woodpecker (C•.ophloeus lineatus (L.)); probablyGuate- malanIvory-billed Woodpecker (Scapaneus guatemalensis (Hartl.)), Oleaginous Woodpecker(Veniliornis oleaginus (Licht.)), Guatemalan•']icker (Colapres mexicanoides(LMr.)). (2) Singlepair attendsnest; mated pairs sleep together throughoutthe yearand both spendthe night in the nestwhile it containseggs andyoung; young return to sleep in thenest with •arents and may do so until next breedingseason approaches. Golden-naped • oodpecker(Tripsurus chry- sauchen(Salv.)), NorthernPiculet (Picwrnnus olivaceus (Lafr.)); possiblyLittle BlackWoodpecker (T. cruentafus(Bodd.)), Pucheran'sWoodpecker (T. puche- rani (M•lh.)), and Piculet (Pieuranussp.). (3) More than two grownb. irds attend nest. Ant-eating Woodpecker(Balanosphyra formicivora (Swains.)). S6] RecentLiterature JulyBird-Banding

Interesting observationson someof thesespecies are included. Waglet's Wood- pecker like most Central American Woodpeckersremains paired throughout the year; territory is maintainedthroughout the year. Male and female have sepa- rate dormitory holes. It was observedin one pair that the male's dormitory was used for the nest. Both sexesincubated although only the male incubated at night; this is true of all oœthe speciesin group1. Both parentsfed and brooded the young. After the departureof the youngthe male was observedto continue sleepingin the nest hole (originally his dormitory) and the female to continue sleepingin her dormitory. After aboutone week the youngsucceeded in finding individualsleeping holes. Amongthe Golden-napedWoodpeckers both members of the pair sleeptogether. Most of the work in excavationof the hole is done by the male although the female helps as the time for egg laying approaches. Both parentsincubate. The young leave the nest at about thirty-four days and fly well at that time. They are broughtback to the nest.in the eveningby the parents. The entiref•mily livestogether until the approachof the next nesting season. The Ant-eatingWoodpecker is usuallyfoundin small flockswhich sleep together at night. As many as five were observedto sleepin one hole. Dmqng the nesting seasona singlenest may be attended bv an entire flock. On one occasionfour males and a femalewere observed to.l•e caring for the samenest and sharing in the incubation. Whether this was polyandry or mex'elyan asso- ciation of a pair assistedby three untastedmales is una•swered. 26. Observations on the Nesting of the Killdeer. W'alter P. Nickell. 1943. The Wil.•'onBulletin, 55: 23-28. This paper recordssome interesting observationson eight.nestsof three pairs of Killdeer, Oxyec.husvociferus vociferous (L.), during 1942. Sevenclutches contained four eggs;one containedfive. One l'emalelaid four clutches(luring this sem•on. The incubationperiods varied from •wenty-four to twenty-six days. When the incubatingfemale of one pair was collectedincubation was continuedby another bird presumablythe male of the pair. 27. Nesting Habits of the Black-billed Cuc!•oo. O. l•uth Silencer. 1943 The Wilson Bulletin, 55: 11-22. Observationson six nests of the Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzuserythrophthalmus (Wilson) made during the summersof 1939 and 1941are summarizedin this paper. Eggs•x'ere layed at iute•als of oneto three days. •oth parentsincubated. The incubationperiod was ten days in one nest and elevenin'another. The diet of the young consistedentirely of msec•' The voun•• left ••he nestat s•xß or sevendays • 0• the e•- hteen e e• la•d. m the two seasons(1939 and 1941), fourteen (87.1.•%) hatched. Ten of the young (71%) left the nest,giving a total for survivingyoung of 55% from the six nest." 28. A Study of the Nesting Habits o• the Cedar Waxwing. Robert B. Lea. 1942. The ]•lson Bulletin,54: 226-236. Twenty•ne CedarWax•'ing (Bombycillacodforum Vieillot) nestswere observed in the courseof two yearsin an area •f abouttwenty-five acres. Twelve nestswere given carefulobservation. The time requiredto buildthe nestva•qed from five to six days. The incubation period was from elevento thi•een days with an averageof 11.7 days. The nestlingperiod varied from twelve to eigbtee•days. Femalesonly performed the incubationand brooding; both parentsshared in buildingthe nestand feeding the young. Two of the nestswere p•asitized by cowbirds. Six of the twelv• nestsobserved fledged young. Forty-foureggs were laid; therewere thirty-three nestlings;twenty-five young were fledged. Fledglingsremained in the vici•ity of.the nest for about one month. lo4s•ol. RecentLiteratur q [87

BEHAVIOR 29. The Daily'Movements oi• Cormorants on San FranciscoBay. George A. Bartholomew,Jr. 19•3. Condor,45: 3-18. An eleven-monthstudy of the roostinghabits and d•ily movementsof the Brandt Cormorant,Phalacrocorax penicilla•us(Brandt) and the Double-crestedCormorant, Phalacroc•rax auritus. albociliatus(Ridgw.). The interestingsuggestion is madethat the time of de- parturefrom the roostin the morningis governedby the sizeof the flockrather than the time of daybreak,the smallerthe flockthe earlierthe departure. The time of return in the eveningis dependentalso on the sizeof the flock(the larger the earlier the return) and the distanceof the feeding place from the roost. 30. Reactions oi• Birds to Aircraft. R. A. Carr-Lewty. 1943. British Birds,36: 151-152. Of interesq.are the following data on obserYations of altitude at which birds were seenin flight: Pink-footedGeese, Anser brachyrhynchu• Baillon, 7,000 feet; Mallard, Anas platyrhynchaplatyrhyncha L., 6,300 feet; Curlew, Numeniusar•uata (L.), 4,600 feet; "," 3,580 feet; Swift, Apus apus(L.), 3,400feet; Wood-pigeon, Colurnba palu•nbus (L.•, 3,100leer; Golden Plover,Pluvialis apricaria (L.), Starling, Sturnus vt•Igaris (L•), Swallow, Hitundo rustica(L.), and Rook, CorousfrugiIegus(L.), all at 2,000feet or above. 31. How Birds Spend Their Winter Nights. A symposiumby the Ten- nosseeOrnithological Society. 1943. TheMigrant, 14: 1-5. A richlittle com- pilationof interestingobservations on the roostinghabits of birdsduring the winter. 32. Imitations of Other Birds by the Starling. GeorgeR. Mayfield. 1942. TheMigrant, 13: 55-56. The followingbirds are reported to beimitated by the Starling.Sturnu.• vulgaris L., in Nashville:Meadowlark, Cowbird, Bronzed •rackle,Red-Winged,Blackbird, White-Throated Sparrow, Bluebird, Bobwhite, Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee,Flicker, Mockingbird,Wood Pewee, Robin, EnglishSparrow, Downy Woodpecker.Hairy Woodpecker,Goldfinch, Sparrow Hawk,Bluejay, Jfinco, /

SYSTEMATIC ORNITHOLOGY 35.Correlation of Bill and Foot Coloring with Age and Season in the Black . Terrence M. Shortt. 1943. The IFilson Bulletin, 55: 3-7. The author showsconclusively that the supposedraces of the Black Duck, Anus •ub•ipes•ubripes Brewster and Anus •ubripe•.tristis Brewster,are actuallynon- existentand that the differencesin bill and foot colorare a functionof age and season. Adult males in winter plumagehave bills of Wax Yellow to Lemon Chromeand feet of CoralRed to ScarletRed. First yearmales in winterplumage have bills of Light YellowishOlive to GreenishYellow and feet of Tawny to ApricotOrange. Differencesin the femalesare not as marked. "All of the bills were spottedand blotchedwith dusky and exhibiteda gradualrange from Deep Oliveto Ochraceous-Orange.The feet varied from Olive Brown to JasperRed." Age in the males was determined by examination of the bursa of Fabricins and cloaca(degree of developmentof penis)and in the femalesby the presenceor absenceof theo.pening of the oviductinto the cloaca. Malesin eclipseplumage show reversion in bill and foot color to that of the juvenile male. Attractive colorplates by the author accompanythe paper. Taxanomicornithology needs many more investigationsof this type.

ANATOMY AND MORPHOLOGY 36. A Systematic Study of the Main Arteries in the Region of the Heart, Aves VI. Trogoniformes, Part. I. Fred li. Glenny. 1943. The Auk, 60: 235-239. Eight speciesof trogons, Chrysotrogoncaligatus (Gould), P•iotelustemnurus (Temminck), Pyrotrogon er•throcephalus (Gould), Temnotrogon roseigaster(Vieillot), Curucujus(Trogon) massena (Gould), Trogonmelanocephalus (Gould), Trogonstrigilatus L., and Trogonur•svariegatus (Gould) were dissected and studied. A commonbasic pattern was foundin all of thesespecies. Of particularnote is the fact that in the entire family only the left carotidartery enters the hypapophysialcanal. AmericanOrnithology needs more researchof this kind. There are unsolvedproblems without number. vol.•4a xtv RecentLiterature [89

BOOKS 37. Systematics and the Origin of Species. Ernst Mayr. 1942. Co• lumbia ;:'niversityPress, New York, 335 pp., $4.00. This is one of the most important booksthat have appeared in recent years, of value alike to systematistsand biologists. As ProfessorDobzhansky in his introduction says: "a correlation of this sort has been necessaryfor sometime; even in the recent past there existeda notoriouslack of mutual comprehension betweenthe systematistson the onehand and the representativesof the experi- mental biologicaldisciplines on-the other." In the main this situationis what Dr. Mayr setsout to correct. It speakswell for the calibreof his biological training and the assiduousnesswith which he has kept up with the massof current literature in a wide variety of fields,that in large measurehe has succeededin his task. One of the disappointingthings about museumornithology is the lack of use to which most specimensare put after they have been collected. Some are interestingin the historicalsense, as Audubon'sskins for example. Rare types and cotypesof the early naturalistshave great intrinsicvalue. Otherspecimens are of value as recordsfor faunal listsor for taxonomicrevisionary studies. Such work of preservationand revisionis naturally important, but much of it is es- sentiallystatic. The pendulumof opinionabout the acceptanceor rejectionof numbersof generamay well swingback againin thirty years. The tempestsof "lureping"and "splitting"will probablycontinue to boil,to simmer,andto boil again. But this bookof Dr. Mayr's servesa doublepurpose. It pointsthe way for greaterutilization by museumpeople of their collectionsas statistical evidence in geneticand ecologicalstudies, and it. showslaboratory people how to find material in museumswhich can assistthem greatly in their work. :Dr. Mayr has attacked his task with method and logic. In the first chapter he presentsa thoroughexposi6on of the historicalbackground and currentstatus of systematics. His section,"the functionsof the systematist,"is worthy of carefulstudy by all museummen. The nextchapters on taxonomiccharacters and geographicvariation give a detailedanalysis of the relationbetween morpho- logical charactersas such,and varicus environmentalspeciation factors. In thesesections, as in fact all throughthe book,Dr. Mayr's detailedknowledge of Old World tropicalislands serves him in good stead. The fauna of tropical islandsis a specialstudy in itself, onethat basnot beenwritten of in American scientificliterature as muchas it hasin Englishand German. It is one of :Dr. Mayr's particularcontributions that he makesavailable to Americanreaders a great many ideasand conceptsderived partly frmn theseEuropean schools of study. The nextthree chapters are concernedwith the problemof the speciesconcept. On p. 120,]Dr. Mayr presentshis species definition which in its shorterform reads: "speciesare groupsof actually or potentially interbreedingnatural populations, ;•,•tl•v•r•nr•teOfidnu•tt•.vel•uicS•laat;dr/•eOn•a?•ohne;sssU•hn•;•n•'; n•eh•? Somechapters ofthe are definitionsseem a bit too didactic,but there is sure!ya virtue in this. The readermust think in orderto criticize. Dr. Mayr has no hesitationin coming out on one side of a question. Nothing could be more advantageousin the writing of a book of this sort. Thelast three chapters are concerned with a discussionof'speciation. They form a valuableand orderedattempt to indicatethat the largerevolutionary processesare a direct outgrowthof that fundamentalprocess which may be observedin microspeciation.To a museumworker these chapters are important for their presentationof the evidencein backof taxonomiccategories. For.the laboratoryworker they are valuable as a seriouspresentation of a "raisond'etre? for taxonomiccategories. ' 90] •c•,•tLileratlff½ JulyBird-Band/ng

In its plannedand intelligentpresentation, clear thinking, and widescope, the book shouldhave a valuedplacein the evolutionaryliterature of our time. •DILLON RIPLEY. 38. Life History of the Blue , Chencaerulescens ('Linnaeus). J. Dewey Soper. 1942. Proceedingsof theBoston Society of Natural History,42: 121-225, plates15-26. Separatelybound, $1.00. Becauseof his discoveryof the nesting groundson Baffin Island in 1929 and his long associationwith researchon the Blue Goosethe authoris extremely•,ell qualifiedto criticallyexamine the liter- ature and to compilea life history of this species. Breedingareas are located on the coast of the Foxe Basin on Baffin Island and on the southern coast of SonthamptonIsland. The BaffinIsland areais a strip ten mileswide and 150 miles long extendingfrom BowmanBay to Taverner Bay. This area, "as far as known, is confinedto a vast ltundra region which is fiat, inclined to be wet or actually swampy,and liberally sprinkledwith shallowponds and small lakes." The nestingcolony on Southamptonis smallerand confinedto a fifty mile strip of similar terrain on the southern coast of the i•land. These nesting areas are in the typical "grasstundra" with a coverof grass-withintermingling mosses and lichens. The summeris short and rains are frequent. The mean temperature for the last ten daysof May, 1929was 27 ø F.; for June,39 ø F.; and for July, 47 øF. Snow beginsto melt in June although there may be fresh sno•qallsduring this month. In 1929 the first Blue Geesearrived on June2; the bulk of arrivalscame from June 10-15. By June26 there weremany nests•ith incompleteclutches; incubation was well under way by July 1. It is believed that the incubation •riod is twenty-fouror twenty-fivedays. The averageclutch is three eggs. e first downyyoung were observed o n July 20 with mostof the eggshatching on July 21 and 22. - Normal!yall geese,adults and young, have departed by themiddle of Sep- tember. l'he migrationleaves Baflin Island in a sectorenclosing Andrew Gordon Bay and ChorkbakJnlet passingthen to the east shoreof HudsonBay. It is joinedsouth of CapeV¾'olstenholme by the birdsfrom Southampto•Island. There is occasionallya split in the flight at BelchersIslands with one group passingby Cape Hem'ietta Maria down the west side of James Bay with the remainderpassing down the east shoreof JamesBay. The latter is probably exceptional. I•lannahBay is the focusof an autumnconcentration of BlueGeese. The birds arrive in early Septemberand leave in October. The migration then passesdirectly south-southwestto the lower MississiPP i robablY in a single• h•gh umnterruptedi•ght. HoweverMmh•gan and Ontario recordsshow that this is not alwaysa non-stoppassage. An early flight of Blue Geesereaches the winteringgrounds du•ing the last weekin August. Theseare probablynon- breedingbirds which leave the breedingareas early and migrate without the prolongedstop at JamesBay. Thesebirds usually fly north againafter reaching the winteringgrounds in August. A secondflight arrivingin late September "could be very late departingbirds direct from Baffinor SouthamptonIslands; either that, or someof thosewhich tarried in JamesBay for (only) two or three weeks." The bulkof the fall migrationreaches the winteringarea in late October and November. Thereare two distinct wintering a•eas: "first, the area bordering both sides of the mouth of the MississippiPrivet and second,from Marsh Island for a distance of eighty-five miles to the mouth of Mermentau River." The birds are never found more than eight railesfrom the coast,a marked similarity to their distri- bution in the nestingareas. Blue Geeseassemble in two or three bandsabout the tenth of March at whichtime the unpairedbirds select mates. The flight of Blue Geesetogether with someLesser Snow Geese leaves Louisiana in the middle of March and proceedsnorthward along or para]Jelto the Mississippi; lO4aVol. XI¾ RecentLiterat ure [91 thencevia the Missouriand Red River Valleys to the interior of Manitoba. The latter part of the journey which passesover easternNorth Dakota is probably a high non-stopflight. The birds assemblein the middle of May in a limited sectorof 800 squaremiles west of Manitoba centeringat GranUsLake. During the firstpart of May most of the birds passeastward to JamesBay probably in a singleflight althoughsome continue northward. The geeseevacuate the James Bay area about the middle of May and migrate northwardalong east shore of HudsonBay retracing the fall migration route. The birds goingto Southampton probablysplit from the main flight near Cape Smith. Both the springandfall migrations are characterizedby their restricted breadth. The authorfeels that the total populationof this speciesmust be not lessthan 5,000,000 and probably increasing. "Aside from man, possiblythe most acute menaceto the speciesis the exceptionallycold, stormy. weather at a criticaltime in the breedingseason." It is apparentthat much informationon nesting behavioris still lacking. This is an excellentpaper. The only possiblecriticism apparentto the revieweris its lackof summarizingparagraphs as well asa general summary. 39. The Birds of Britain. James Fisher. 1943. London. William Collins and Sons. 48 pp. An interestingelementary introduction to somephases of the ornithologyof the British Isles. Great Britain has20 million acresof moor land, deer forest, and rough forest; 18 million of rich grassland; 12 million in scrub;crops;a3•n•d million• millionof parks, of inlandgardens• waters. and Therebuildings; are at3 leastmillion 3•500 ofwoodland miles of coastand line and "thousands" of islands. About 120 million land birds neat on these 57 million acres and unestimated "millions" of sea birds nest on the shoresand islands. Thirty-three of the 133 nestingbirds are subspeciespeculiar to the British Isles. Becauseof its geographicposition Great Britain is the nesting placeof many Atlantic birdsand servesin •ddition as a guideto Scandinavian birds in migration. The •tarmigan, (Lagopus•t•s millaisi Hart.), Snow Bunting(Plectrophenax nivalis (L.)), and Dotterel(Charadrius mori-nellus L.) are describedas relicts of the ice age. The Reducing(Turdus mu.•icusL.), ( Fringillavwntif•gilla L.), BlackGrouse ( Lagopustotfix britannicus With. & L6nn.),and the LesserRedpoll (Cardselis linaria cabaret (P. L. S. Miill.) ) are survivorsfrom the post-ice-agebirch period. The Capercaillie(Tetrao u•o- gallusurogallus L.), Long-earnedOwl (A•4oasio otus (L.)), and CoalTit (Parus ater britannicusSharpe and Dress.)are representativesof the ancientpine forest fauna. Radical decreasesin the populationsof the ]•ite (Milvus milvus•milvus (L.)), Buzzard ( Buteo buteob•teo (L).); Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneuscyane•us (L.)), MarshHarrier ( C. aeruginosusae.ruginosus (L.)), Ea•le (Aquilachrysa•tus chrysa•lus(L.)), and Peregrines(Falco peregrinus peregrinus Tunst.) have been causedby interferenceby man in the last 150-200years. An excellentsummary of the historyof BritishOrnithology is given. Thereis a compJetelist of British birds. The sweepinggeneralizations concerning the compositionand origin of the Britishavifauna are justifiablein considerationof the elementarynature of the book. The completeomission of scientificnames impairs the usefulness of the book for one not familiar with the British common names. 40. VertebratePhotoreceptors. Samuel R. Dc•weiler.1943. ]•]xperi- mentalBiological Monographs. The MacmillanCompany. New York. 1S4pp. $4.00. In this monographthe authordevelops an authoritativepicture of the physiologyof vertebratephotoreception through a carefuland thorongh analysis of the retinae of many vertebratespecies In the first chapterthere is a brief comparativedescription of the vertebrateeye with statementsconcerning the evo.lutionary trends as well asinformation concerning its adaptationsin nocturnal 92] RecentLiterature • JulyBird-Banding and crepuscularspecies. The remainderof the book is devotedto the structure, physiology,and adaptations of the retina. Although the author has not done extensiveresearch with avian eyes his broad knowledgeof the field has enabled him to use effectivelythe literature on the eyesof birds. Becauseof the high degreeof developmentof sight in birds this book in its entirety will be of interest to many ornithologists. Of particular interestwill be its frequent referencesto specializationsand adaptationsin birds. Birds possessthe highestvisual acuity of all the vertebrates. This is asso- ciated with the specializeddegree of macular developmentin which there is an extreme concentrationof visual elements (cones)in the fovea which gives in- creasedresolution and acuity. For example, the fovea of Buteo containsabout 1,000,000 conesper sq. mm. whereasthe human fovea probably has only about 160,000 conesper sq. mm. Most birds possessa single central (nasal) fovea. Hawks and swallows,however, have both a central and a temporalfovea in each retina. The author adopts Casey Wood's classficationof "areas for distinct vision" in birds: (1) Amacular Fundus. No central macularregion. California Quail. (2) Nasal Mono•acular Fundus. Most birds. (3) Temporal Mono- macular Fundus. Exclusively in owls. (4) Bi•.acular Fundus. Two foveae. Swallows,most hawks, kingfishers. (5) Band-like Area Centralis(infula•acular fundus). A band or stripe containinga well-definedmacula or fovea. Greater Yellow-legs. (6) Infulabi•nacularfundus. Band containingor connectingtwo macularregions. OldWorld Flamingo,Sparrow Hawk. The greatvisual acuity in birdsis probablydue also to the presenceof manyassociation cells iia the retina as indicated by the striking developmentof the internal nuclear layer of the retina. Somewhatdisappointing is the omissionof discussionconcerning the function of the pecten, an outstandingunsolved problem in arian physiologv. Ornithologistsmay be furtherdisappointed in findingnon-specific references such as "in the hawk" and "in the owl." Chapter IX containsan interestingdis- cussionon the evolutionand significanceof the fovea. Readerswill be impressed with the compactlogical organizationof the material and above all the fact that the monographis very readable and not one of those to be shelvedfor only occasional reference. 41. . A. LandsboroughThomson. 1942. H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd. London. Revised Edition. 192 pp. 6s. Six years have elapsedsince the appearanceof the first edition of this brief accountof bird mi- gration. In the interest of economy the actual size of the revised edition is smalleralthough through the useof smallerprint it hasbeen possible to introduce recentpertinent research. Amongthe addedmaterials are recentdata on trans- atlantic flights from bandingrecords, Griscom on the movementsof crossbills, Middletonon the length of stopsby migrants,and Mrs..N'iceon the inheritance of migratory instinctin songsparrows. Five new mapshave been added. The author toys with the possiblerole of the pituitary gland in the physiologyof migration. His demonstrationof the inadequacyof any "explain-alJ"theory of bird migration would seem to lead logically to the suggestionthat "bird m - gration"is actuallya groupof superficiallysimilar processes probably with several .originsand subjected to commonor differentselective factors, or both,resulting in a commonconvergence, periodic mass movement. Although there is need f or an extensiveauthoritative treatise of bird migrationthis little bookwill always enjoy a most usefulniche. 42. General Zoology. Tracy I. Storer. 1943. McGraw-Hill Book Com- pany, Inc. 798pp. $3.75. As a textbookof generalzoology this bookcontains an admirablebalance and choiceof material. It is readily usablein either a "principles"or "systematicsurvey" type of course. The first part consistingof Vol.1043 RecentLiterature [93

elevenchapters deals with the principlesof animalbiology. The frogis usedas a representativeanimal. Of particularinterest to ornitholo•stsare the chapters on evolution,animal ecology, and distributionof animals.The secondpart, twenty-twochapters, deals systematically with the animalkingdom. There is a thirty-fivepage chapter on birdsin whichthe domesticfowl is usedas a type animal in the study of avian anatomy. Adaptations,distrihution, migration, food,enemies, reproduction, domestic birds, fossil birds, and classificationof birds are discussed.Each chapterconcludes with a brief list of well-chosen "' references.A thoroughfamiharitv with thesereferences would be amplein- suranceof an excellentgeneral zoological background. In the chapteron birds the authorstates that thereare two pancreaticducts in the domesticfowl. This is truefor manyspecies of birdsand occasionally true for the domestic howeverthis speciesusually has three. Thereare 551figures and five colorea plates.This book is recommendedto ornithiologists asa "refresher"in alhed zoologicalfields and to the teacherof zoologyfor seriousconsideration as an ' efficientand practical textbook for studentsin elementaryzoology. It should becomea verypopular text. 43. Bird Houses,Baths and FeedingShelters. EdmundJ. Sawyer. 1940. BulletinNo. 1, CranbrookInstitute of Science,Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. 40 pp. $0.20. Everyornithologist has among his friends at leastone well- meaningnovice who •builds monstrosities of hlrd houses and hangs them in ridiculousplaces. For such cases this inexpensive practical little booklet is ideal. It containsplans and suggestions for birdhouses for all specieswhich nest in housesin the United States. The "mechanicalbouncer" for unwelcomespecies 'appearsto be a practical idea. • 44. Trail of the MoneyBird. DillonRiplev' 1942. Harperand Brothers. New York. 306 pp. $3.o0. This•s an interestingaccount of the anthos adventuresasthe ornithologistwith an expedition to Neg'Guinea. In the first fivechapters he 'describes the voyage across the Pacific in the Chiva,a six•ty-foot schooner.Galapagos, Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, theSolomons, and New Britain were visitedenroute One en'o s articularl, the storiesof the major collectingtrips into the interiorof New Guineaand to someof its adjacentislands during whc theauthor was aided by "Jusup",a major-domo who hel•ed prepare skins, and "Saban",a shooter. A colonyof crog'nedpigeons was dbserved onBiak. .Of greatestinterest perhapsis the accountof the trip into cannibalcountry "companywith a Dutchofficial who for thefirst time was hringing the authority of theDutch Government to someof thetribes. Despiteadverse conditions the p•rty succeededin observingand takingmany hirds including cassowaries, kadjah sheldrakes,pittas, vulturmeparrots, king h•rdsof paradise( mony hird" in Malay), wagtails,lories, and Cuvier'smound builder. On a visit to BonI{ourangen, a mountain of 5,000ft., 300specimens were collected including somewhich the authorhimself considers "Birds of Fable." Everyorni•holog!st shouldread the descriptionof the houseand gardens of the bowerbirdß An amusingoddity was the additionof the author'sdiscarded .410 gaugeshotgun shellsto thegardens of these birds. Severalspecies ofparadise birds were taken andalthough many dancing places were observed only one male was seen dancing by the author. Threepairs of i•alliculaleucospila were captured alive by putting intoa bagthe shelter of leavesinto which the pair retires for the night. The finaland perhaps the mosttrying adventure involved carrying eighty-seven live hirdsin forty-twocages on a forty-nineday voyage around the Capeof Good Hopeto Boston. For scientificdetails the readeris referredto a bihliography of the paperseminating from the expedition. By the injectionof numerous interestingexperiences such as the observationof Papuandances, a part of the 94] BirdsBanded During 194œ JulyBird-Bsnding church Christmas festival, and participation in a two-day Chinesewedding, the author has createda delightfulmixture of travelogueand popularornithology. --D.C. FARIqlgR.

NUMBER OF BIRDS BANDED DURING THE

GOVERNMENT FISCAL YEAR 1942 T•, Fish and Wildlife Servicehas compiledthe following list of individuals and cooperativestations that banded over 100 birds during the fiscalyear July 1st, 1941 to June 30, 1942. The following stationson Federal Refugesbanded moie than 100 birds: Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge,Round Oak, Ga...... 7,084 Raymond J. Fleetwood Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Havana, Ill ...... 5,942 ß Homer L. Bradley Lower SourisNational Wildlife Refuge,Upham, N. Dak ...... 4,005 C. J. Henry Malheur National Wildlife Refuge,Burns, Oregon ...... 3,057 Geo. M. Benson Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge,Brigham, Utah ...... 2,591 V. T. Wilson White River National Wildlife Reftitc, St. Charles,Ark ...... 1,724 H. A. Miller Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Columbia,S. Dak ...... 1,403 Watson E. Beed Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge,Hol}, Minn ...... 1,225 K. G. Kobes CapeRemain National Wildlife Refuge,McClellanville, S. C...... 1,096 A. H. DuPre, W.' L. Hills Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Cache,Okla ...... 1,036 F. B. McMurray SeneyNational Wildlife Refuge,Germfask, Mich ...... 977 J. H. Steenis and C. S. Johnson Waubay National Wiidlife Refuge,Waubay, S. Dak...... 933 D. R. Ambrosen Upper SourisNational Wildlife Refuge,Foxholm, N. Dak ...... 925 F. S. Dart PatuxentResearch Refuge, Bowie,'Md ...... 700 Royal Stewart, Leonard Llewellyn, Don R. Coburn Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Tulelake, Calif...... 696 C. G. Fairchild SabineNational Wildlife Refuge,Sulphur, La ...... 656 J. A. Howard La CreekNational Wildlife Refuge,Martin, S. Dak...... 376 E. W. Crawford BlackwaterNational Wildlife Refuge,Cambridge, Md ...... 365 David V. Black