iSooH jBtetu0 ant) 3^etieto0 Birds of Princeton, New Jersey and Vi- cinity. By William Arthur Bahson. Bull. BirtI Club Princeton University. Vol. I, No. I. Sept., 1901. 8vo. 82 pao;es. Price, paper, $1 ; cloth, I1.25. This list is based mainly on the author's observations from 1897-1900, while a stu- dent at Princeton University, and on the notes of W. E. D. Scott and A. H. Phillips, both well known for their ornithological work about Princeton. It enumerates 230 species, which are classified according to the manner of their occurrence as follows: Per- manent Residents, 34; Summer Residents, 70; Summer Visitants, 7 ; Winter Residents, 15; Winter Visitants, 16; Regular Tran- sients, 65; Irregular, 17; Accidental Visit- ants, 12. The annotations abound in interesting records, and include what is highly desir- able, but too often omitted from local lists, definite migration and nesting dates. These make the list of practical value to all work- ing ornithologists in the eastern United States. The strong Carolinian element in the Princeton avifauna is attested by the regular occurrence of the Turkey Buzzard, Barn Owl, Acadian Flycatcher, Fish Crow, Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and it is therefore somewhat surprising to learn that other Carolinian birds (e.g., Kentucky Warbler and Hooded Warbler) which are common in the lower Hudson Valley as far north, at least, as Sing Sing, are exceedingly rare and not known to breed at Princeton. Pos- sibly local conditions may account for the absence of these birds from a point well within their range, and the case illustrates very clearly the need of a large number of observations from even a limited area in determining exactly the distribution of birds. The list is well printed, and the Princeton Bird Club is to be congratulated on the at- tractiveness and worth of this its first publi- cation, which at once takes its place among standard faunal literature. — F. M. C. (21 The Relation of Si'arrows to Agricul- ture. By Sylvester D. Judd. Bull. No, 15, Division of Biological Survey, V. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 98 pages, 4 plates, 19 text cuts. This bulletin presents not only the known facts in regard to the food habits of Spar- rows, but may also be taken as an admirable illustration of the most advanced methods of research in economic ornithology, in which a study of the bird's food in nature is quite as important as the examination of its stomach contents in the laboratory. As Dr. Judd well says: "Although the exami- nation of a bird's stomach shows just what the bird has eaten, yet if this alone be de- pended upon, information is still wanting as to what has been refused or what preferences exist, since the different elements of the food supply in the locality where the stomach was collected are not taken into account. If, however, this lacking information be ob- tained by means of field observation, and used in connection with stomach examina- tion, the examiner will be able to make his analysis with the fullest degree of accuracy. The economic value of Sparrows lies chiefly in their destructiveness to weed seeds. Dr. Judd remarks: "In a garden, within two months, they will sometimes destroy 90 per cent of such weeds as pigeon-grass and ragweed. . . . Weed seed forms more than half of their food for the entire year, and during the colder half of the year it consti- tutes about four-fifths of the food of many species." This statement is supported liy the statistics of stomach examination and field study, and our belief in the importance of Sparrows to our agricultural interests is thus placed on sound scientific basis. — F. M. C. California Water Birds. — No. V. Vicinity of Monterey in May and Early June. By Leverett M. Loomis. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sciences, Third Series, II, No. 5, Dec. 24, 1900. Pages 349-363. Mr. Loomis here gives us his fifth paper on the migration of California water-birds.
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