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With No. 38—the beginning of a new vol- ume—Lynds Jones again takes the editor- ship of the 'Bulletin,’ which with the new cover, fresh type, and general rearrangement approaches more closely the modern maga- zine, Besides a number of shorter articles, B. T. Gault gives an interesting account on ‘Food Habits of the Wilson Snipe.’ and N, Hollister‘s ‘Notes on the Winter Birds of Arkansas. Very little has he written about the birds of the state and consequently reliable lists are very welcome. We cannot help thinking that the Brewer‘s Blackbirds mentioned really were Bronze Gracklcs.—:\. K. F.
THE Coupon—The January number of "I‘he Condor‘ opens with an illustrated article on “A Trip to Morro Lake," by Walter K, Fisher, containing an interesting account of the desert region at the foot of the east slope of the Sierra Nevada, and of birds observed there during the summer of roor. Williams contributes the first instal- ment of “A Study of Bird Songs,”and Gil» man gives an account of the habits of the “Crissal Thrasher in California." Beck’s article on “The Wingless Cormorant of the Galapagos,” although brief, merits special mention since it contains what purports to be the first published ha'f»tone of the re- markable Cormorant (P/mlarrocarux har- riri), which has thus far been found only about Narborough Island. porrant short notes are Stephens‘ record of the occurrence of Lawrence’s Goldfinch in New Mexico just east of the continental divide; Maillard‘s records of two specimens the Saw—whet Owl (A"(lula), in Marion county, and Ridgway‘s record of the Elf Owl (Micrapalla: whilneyi) in Kern county, Cal, Grinnell corrects a few errors in identification which have crept into some of his publications on west coast birds—an excellent idea which should commend itself to others, since mistakes in identification are likely to be made by almost any one, and when once publisth are apt to multiply erroneous records unless properly corrected.
This number, the first of the fourth volume, is printed on heavier paper and presents a greatly improved appearance in its
Among the im-
Bird- Lore
new cover. There is, however, still room for improvement in the reproduction of illustrations and in certain typographical features. The use of the same bold-faced type for headings and for lists of species gives the final page of the first paper the appearance of an advertisement, and the juxtaposition of single and double column matter produces anything but a pleasing effect. The single column may be necessary to accommodate illustrations in the case of longer articles, but the reason for its use for ‘general notes’ and not for other depart- ments is not evident.
Three new rules for the preparation of manuscript have been adopted: (r) omis- sion of the possessive form in common names of bird; (2) use of single i in specific names formed from personal names—Nut- Iuili, not Nultallii: (3) use of lower case letters for common names, except in a few Cases. The first and last rules are purely matters of taste, but the second involves a modification of Canon XL of the A. O. U. code of nomenclature, which requires the original orthography of a name to be rigidly preserved. Whatever be the advantage of convenience and uniformity, the fact remains that this change is an emendation. The same arguments could be used with still greater force for uniform spelling of such names as carrtlm, hiemalit, pemuyl‘vanim, etc., but experience has shown that con— fusion instead of convenience result from change and that emendation for any pur— pose in one class of cases is the entering wedge which may lead to trouble in others.
Book News
‘Evexveoov‘s MAGAZINE ’ has published a notable series of articles on water birds by H. K. Job. illustrated by the author’s admirable photographs from nature. It is satisfactory to learn that these articles are later to appear in book form from the press of Doubleday, Page & Company.
‘AMcxicAN ORNITHOLOGY’ is presenting colored pictures designed to illustrate the distinguishing color»marks of birds, in which surprisingly satisfactory results are obtained by the use of only one or two colors.
