308 RecentLiterature. [April/kirk Passerculusrostratus group the author unites guttatuswith rostratusand restrictssanctorum as a residentform on the San Benito Islands. l:ie agrees with Oberholser(vid. sup.) that the recently describedanulus of Huey is a form of sandwichensisbut goesfarther and treats all of the rostratusgroup in the same manner. I)ickey, I)on•ld I•.--A New Clapper Rail from Sonora. (Trans. San DiegoSoc. Nat. Hist., VI, No. 18, December24, 1930.)--Railus obsoletu• rhizophorae(p. 235). Wetmore, Alexa•der.--The Bullfinch of Ile a Vache, Haiti. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,Vol. 44, Feb. 21, 1931.)--Loxigilla violaceaparishi (p. 27). The Ornithological Journals. Bird-Lore. XXXIII, No. 1. January-February,1931. The Rosy Finch, a Friendly Winter Bird in Colorado. By Mrs. George J. B•iley.--A popular accountof the Leucostictes. The Seasonand the Christmas Census take up most of the issue. In the latter Cape May, N.J., with 78 specieshe•ds the list for the north- eastern states. Dr. A. A. Allen has an interestinglife history of the Cormorant; there is a color plate of the BurrowingOwl by Brooksa•d a photographand accountof the outrageouskilling of Hawks at Cape May againstwhich we have repeatedlyprotested. The New JerseyGame Commissionhas prom- isedto "look into the matter," but the feelingon the part of sportsmenand gamebreeders is so stronglyagainst the Hawks that it will probablytake action on the part of a•l bird loversin the State to produceany results! The Condor. XXXIII, No. 1. January-February, 1931. SomeFlocking Habits of the CaliforniaQuail. By John B. Price. Notes on the Spotted and Flammulated ScreechOw]s in Arizona. By E. C. Jacot. Variation in Color of Male House Finches. By H. Michener and Jose- phine R. Michener.--This is an exceedinglyinteresting and suggestive paper. The authorstook a few feathersfrom the rump of every m•le bird that visited their traps and succeededin somecases in securingseveral samplesat considerableintervals from the same individualsshowing the actua•change in color. In all, 1980 plur•ges sampleswere obtainedand it wasfound that of these,383 individuaJswere orange or yellowinstead of red and that thosethat repeatedin later yearsusually ctmnged to red but there was no evidenceof a•y reverse changeonce the red phim_•gewas attained. The brighteningof the red coloris attributed to the lossof the gray barbulesa•d referenceis madeto a similarexplanation in a previous paper by Dr. Grinnell. We would call attention to the fact that this r•tter was fully explainedwith photomicrographillustrations by Dr. J. Dwight still earlierin his 'Sequenceof Plunmgesand Moults of the Pas- serincBirds of N.Y.' (Ann•]s N.Y. Acad. Sci. XIII, 1900). This, the ¾ol. XL¾III] j 309 mostimportant paper yet publishedon the molt of Americanbirds, is not includedin the authors'bibliography l CharlesAndrew Allen. By JosephM•illi,,•d.--While known as a col- lector, mainly to the past generationof ornithologists,Mr. Allen's bird s•in• are to be foundin almostevery large collectionin the eastas well as in California. He died in June 1930 in his 89th year. SomeFlowers vi•ted by Birds. By A. L. Pickens.--List of p•nts with colorof flowers,wMch have interestedH•mm•ngbirds. TheWilson Bulletin. ' XLII, No.4. December,1930. The Barro ColoradoLaboratory as a Stationfor OrnithologicalResearch. By JosselynVan Tyne.--Illustrated. Notes on the Wild Turkey in Indiana. By S. E. Perkins,III. Larine Successionon Lone Tree Island. By C. G. Manuel. Territory Disputesof Three Pairs of Nesting Marsh Hawks. By Paul L. R. Errington. SeasonalChanges in a Bird Habitat in Texas. By G. Eftrig. Notes on the Birds of South Central J•,,,•,s. By F. M. Alexander. Notes on the Birds of Cranberry Glades, PocahontasCounty, West Virginia. By Maurice G. Brooks. Birds of BuchananCounty, Iowa. By Fred J. Pierce. The Oõlogist. XLVIII, No. 1. January, 1931. In the Nesting Haunts of the WesternWinter Wren. By Fred Maltby. Pennsylvania and New Jersey Nesting Recordsfor 1930. By R. F. Miller. Bird Banding. II, No. 1. January, 1931. A Study of the Chickadeeand White-breastedNuthatch by Means of Marked Individuals. By Wilbur K. Butts.--An admirable article illus- trating the possibilitiesof the study of the actionsand behaviourof indi- vidual birds. Bird-Banding; Its l•rst Decade under the Biological Survey. By F. C. L/ncoln. Bulletin of the Essex County [w•_,•__.]Ornithological Club. No. 12, December,1930. The Interestin• May of 1930. By Ludlow Griscom.•With daily Nsts for May 7, 14, 30. IpswichRiver Bird Trip. By Ralph Lawson.--114species identified on May 17-18 by the party of twenty-seven,between Howe and Ipswich,Mass. The ShootingSeason of 1930 in EssexCounty. By Edward Babson. Birds of A SeptemberAfternoon. By A. P. Stubbs. Say'sPhoebe in EssexCounty, Mass. By S. G. Emilio. A Bluegray GnatcatcherFamily. By Philip Emerson.--Identity not positive, the nest being quite ,mlilre that usually made by the speciesand 310 •'Auk• the location in northern Massachusettsis far beyond its known breeding range, as stated by the editors. North American Birds of Accidental Occurrence in the British Isles. By S. G. Emilio.--A compilationwith interesting comment. Some Ocean Birds. By Francis H. Allen. The Avifaunas of the Countiesof Norfolk, England and Essex, Massa- chusettsCompared. By Charles W. Townsend. The Post-breedingNorthern Migration of North American Herons. By Charles W. Townsencl.--It is pointed out that this migration is contrary to all the "rules" governingbird movementsand that all influencessupposed to governthe birds at this seasoncall for travel in the oppositedirection. The query is made as to why the older ornithologistsdid not mention this northward movement and it is inferred that possibly it did not occur in their time. As a matter of fact Wilson mentions the abundance of white Herons on the New Jersey marshes "all summer." Both the Little Blue and Snowy Herons bred there in his day and this would obscure any in- creasefrom the south, so that it is probablethat the flight occurredthen as it does now. "Hawks is Hawks" but some axe Mouse Traps. By John B. May.--A strong plea for Hawks. The quotation from Phillips and Lincoln quoted in this paper is most aproposbut so bent are the sportsmenon their own killings that the Hawks are refusedany consideration. The Duck Hawk, they say, "is sucha magnificentbird, and possessessuch mastery of the air, that the spectacleof one in pursuit of a swift-flying Teal or other duck shouldcall forth the highestadmiration of the observer,rather than a feel- ing of resentment coupledwith a desireto kill the bird which is striving to do only that which the hunter himself has planned." It might be added that the Hawk is seekingfood in the only way that nature has provided while man utterly unfitted by nature to catch ducksis really goingout of his field and invading that of the bird 1 Pursuit and Capture of Birds of Prey. By Charles W. Townsend.-- Another plea for the Hawks. Annotated List of Birds Observedby the Essex County Ornithological Club During 1930. By Arthur P. Stubbs. The Cardinal. III, No. 1. January,1931. A Year on Southampton Island. By George M. Sutton.--With a sketch of King Eiders in flight. The 1930 Expedition to Hudson Bay. By W. E. Clyde Todd. Hummingbirdsin Time of Drought. By Carl W. Schlag. Woodcocksin a Dry Season. By Bayard H. Christy. The Gllll. Vol. 12• Nos. 8-12; Vol. 13, No. 1. August•1930-January• 1931. Field Observationsat Las PosadosCamp• Napa Co., Calif. By Amy Rinehart. [September.] The 1930Trip to the FarallonIslands. By C. A. Bryant.--Otherpapers on the islandsfollow. [October.] A Lagoonin September.By L. P. Bolander.--MossLanding, Castr(• ville, Calif. [November.] Some Birds of Mr. LassenVolcanic National Park. By Cornelia C. Pringle. [January.] Bulletin Io•a Ornithologists'Union. VII, No. 7. July-September, 1930. TheCory's Bittern and the Sennett's Nighthawk. By MaryL. Bailey.-- A bird supposedto be thismelanistic form of the LeastBittern was seen at Mud Lake,S. D. andanother at SpiritLake. In bothcases it wasin companywith Least Bitterns which is additional evidence of its reelartistic character. A Sennett'sNighthawk was also recorded,presumably at Sioux City, Iowa. Septemberat McGregor. By I)rusillaE. Flagg. The Wren-Tit. II, No. 4. October,1930. Bird listsand noteson field trips of the SantaClara Valley Audubon Society,San Jose,Calif. The Flicker (Mimeographedjournal). II, No. 3. May-June,1930.. Nestingof the BarredOwl. By StanleyStein. SpringMigration Dates at Minneapolis,Minn. The Fltoker(Mimeographed journal). II, Nos.4-5. May-October, 1930. The 1930Nesting Season. By E. D. Swedenborg.List of nestsfound in the vicinity of Minneapolis. Notes on SomeBirds Seenin Western Minnesota. By Klden Risser. Birdingin Lac qui Parle. By GustavSwanson. The Raven(Mimeographed journal). I, Nos.10-12; III, No. 1. Oc• ber 1930-January, 1931. Localnotes on the birds of Virginia by theVirginia Society of Ornithology. The Migrant (Mimeographedjournal). I, Nos.2, 3-4. September and December,1930. Notesetc., by membersof theTennessee Ornithological Society. The l•ia. (13thSeries). I, No. 1. January,1931. The Relationbetween the Gonadsand the SecondarySexual Characters in Vertebrates,especially in Birds. By G. J. vanOordt.--It is shown that malesof the DomesticFowl when castratedretain somesecondary sexual characterswhile*,others, evidently dependent onthe presence ofthe gonads, arelost or modified•sothat a birdintermediateS-between normalmale and femaleresults. Whena femaleis ovariectomizeda •imilar bird is produced. Ncw Dr. van Oordthas produced the samechange by castratinga male 312 Auk Black-headedGull (Larus ridibundus),the bird retaining the white headed winter plumageat a]l times showingthat the black head as well as brighter bi]l colors,characteristic of the summeror breedingseason, are dependent on the presenceof the gonads. Grafting of sexual organs in castrated individuals in the Domestic Fowl has caused the return to normal condition and in some caseswhere grafting was done during molt the feathers show the two types combined,the distal part developedunder the first condition and the proximal underthe second.