Bird lore - Project Puffin

2^oofe Mt^^ antr Ctetitetpsf
Land Birds of Nokthern Nkw York. A
Pocket Guide to Common Land Birds
of the St. Lawrence Valley and the
Lowlands in General of Northern New-
York. By Edmund J. Sawykr. Illustrated
by the .\uthor. Published under
the auspices of the Watertown Bird
Club, 1916. 90 pages. Paper 35 cents;
cloth, 50 cents; both postpaid. For sale
by local bookstores, and by A. C.
Rogers, 325 Jay St., Watertown, N. Y.
The resident of northern New York
who is a beginner in bird-study should
fmd this a handy little (3X x 6yi inches)
companion in the field, to tell him the
names of about 130 of the commoner
land birds of his region. The arrangement
is in groups, such as 'Brightly
Colored Birds,' 'Tree Climbers and Creep-
ers,' etc., in which, it is believed, a begin-
ner can find his birds more readily than
if grouped in families of which he knows
ne.xt to nothing. It would have been still
better, perhaps, to base the entire arrangement
on one feature, such as color, size,
habit or habitat. One seeing his first Red-
headed Woodpecker would be puzzled
whether to look for it in one of the groups
mentioned above or in 'Birds Distinctly
Marked,' or 'Birds of Distinctive Outline
or Form.' It is taken for granted that the
serious student will have at home some
bulkier work for further reference. To
the Watertown bird-lover this booklet
will be of particular value in letting him
know what birds visit the city park, and
where and when to expect them.
More care in some of the descriptions
would have added to the value and not to
the size of the volume. No mention is
made of the characteristic tail-pattern of
the Magnolia Warbler, or of slight but
important color-ditTcrcnces between the
Northern and Migrant Shrikes. The
female Rose-breasted Grosbeak should be
better described than 'Like female of No.
517 [Purple Finch].' There is no adequate
description of the Blackburnian Warbler
and the colored picture is drawn so as to
conceal its unique orange throat. A
(323)
Kingfisher would tloubtlcss object to
having the Blue Jay called 'The only distinctly
blue bird of such large size.' The
Field and Chipping Sparrows are notice-
ably