As before, his treatment is both objective and subjective, his notes on the birds observed being accompanied by a discussion of ' Bird Waves,' ' Pauses in Migration,' 'Retrograde Migration," 'Overflow from Southern Breeding Grounds,' 'Cause of Return Migration.' We have before commented on Mr. Loomis' theories in regard to the under- lying causes of migration* and will here only add that as the expressions of an ornithologist of wide field experience his views are worthy of consideration by all students of migration. — F. M. C. A List of the Land Birds of Santa Cruz County, California. By Richard Mc- CiREGOR. Pacific Coast Avifauna No. 2. Cooper Ornithological Club, Santa Clara, Calif. May 15, 1901. Royal 8vo. 22 pages. Price, 25 cents. This list includes ail the previously pub- lished information in regard to the manner of occurrence of the birds of the region treated and as well as some additional material, and while the author trusts that it is "a fairly complete list of the land birds of Santa Cruz county," of which 139 species and subspecies are included, he hopes that it may "form a foundation for a future and more complete exposition of the Santa Cruz avifauna." Apparently much remains to be learned of the times of migration and nest- ing of Santa Cruz birds, and the list, there- fore, of this kind, larks that definiteness so desirable in publications. It, however, is of evident value in determining the complex faunal characteristics of the region, which are well outlined in an introduction by Walter K. Fisher.— F. M. C. The Ornithological Magazines The Auk.—' An Ornithological Mystery' from the pen of Wm. Brewster, opens the October number. Occasionally since 1889, a bird voice, for a season, has haunted certain marshes of eastern Massachusetts and mocked all efforts of Mr. Brewster and Mr. Faxon to run to earth the owner; — •vox et prrrterea nihil. His notes have brought upon him the suggestive name of •Hihd-I.ork II, l(;00, 72. 'Kicker,' but evidently he does not court the publicity that other ' kickers ' seek. Several lists follow: ' A Preliminary List of the Summer Birds of Mt. Mansfield, Ver- mont,' by A. H. Howell; ' On a Collection of Birds made Chiriqui, ' by O. Bangs, several of them new, and ' A List of Hawaiian Birds * * *.' Will some- body instance a case where a preliminary list was ever followed by a final one from the same author, and is there no escape from the tiresome, initial ' On ' that still mars so many titles? A. C. Bent describes the ' Nesting Habits of the Anatidae of North Dakota,' illustrating his paper with several good half-tones, and J. A. Farley presents a study of the Alder Flycatcher in eastern Massachusetts; F. J. Birtwell throws light on ' The Nesting Habits of the Evening Grosbeak,' having discovered and photo- graphed in New Mexico two nests of this species. 'A New Classification of Birds,' based on pterylosis, is attempted by H. L. Clark. Considering how imperfect is the present knowledge of the pterylosis of even the most familiar species, the attempt is somewhat ambitious, although a step for- ward in a direction now much neglected. Various notes and reviews complete the number. The statement by Mrs. Bates under 'Maine Bird Notes,' that she heard Martins at night should be corroborated, for it is easy to be mistaken in the calls that come from the overhead armies of migrants that move as a whole so silently and so swiftly to other climes. — J. D., Jr. The Condor. — 'The Condor' for Sep- tember and October contains as usual nu- merous field observations made by members of the Cooper Ornithological Club. Bar- low contributes an interesting account of the Mountain (Miickadee, ami Cohen re- counts his experience with Barn Owls in captivity. Under the title of 'Summer Ob- servations in the Sierras,' Daggett mentions the more conspicuous birds obscrveil tluring a trip from Pasadena, California, by way of Fort Tejon and Visalia.to the North Fork of the Kaweah, King's River Cafion and Kearsarge Pass near Mt. Brewer. The paper shows very clearly the great diversity
