Ornithological Notes

Abstract

THE May number of the New York Zoological Society's Bulletin is devoted to the needs and results of wild-life protection in America, more especially as regards birds. A feature of this issue is a coloured plate representing five species of brilliantly coloured birds—the quezal, the great bird of paradise, the scarlet ibis, the cock-of-the-rock, and the white egret—which are in special danger of extermination in various parts of the world. Altogether, it is estimated that something like one hundred species are in danger owing to the feather trade or on account ot their value as food. It is no answer to say that the present comparative abundance of some of these species renders protective measvires unnecessary, for it is pointed out that the same argument was used in 1857 in the case of the passenger-pigeon and Wilson's snipe, the former of which is now extinct, save for one survivor in the zoological gardens at Cincinnati. The purchase of Marsh Island as a bird sanctuary by Mrs. Sage is recorded as an important step in the right direction.