The distinctive feature of this paper is its brief but clear introduction on the life-zones and faunal areas of California with its comments on the factors governing the distribution of life, and on the relation of faunas to zones. It is illustrated with plates showing both zonal and faunal divisions and four profiles across the state.
The terms used for the areas here defined are employed through the list of birds and with the aid of the maps, convey a maximum of information with a minimum of words.
Full records and references are given for species of rare or accidental occurrence in the state as a whole, as well as boundary records for those forms occupying a portion of the state.
It goes without saying that this list is authoritative and aside from its purely scientific value it should be of much assistance in at least the provisional identification in life of forms so closely related that the locality at which they are seen is their best field character.—F. M. C.
The Double crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) and its Relations to the Salmon Industries on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By P. A. Taverner. Canadian Geological Survey. Mus. Bull. No. 13, Biol. Ser. No. 5; April 30, 1915. 8vo., 24 pages, 1 plate.
Complaint having been made that Cormorants were damaging the salmon fisheries of the Gaspé coast, the Geological Survey of Canada despatched Mr. Taverner with two assistants to study the food-habits of the Cormorant in the region where the charges against it originated.
It is not without significance that the Cormorant was accused, not by those who are dependent on fishing for a living, but by anglers who having rented certain salmon streams apparently feel that they have also acquired the power to inflict the death penalty on any form of life which they believe to interfere with their own interests.
Mr. Taverner was in the field from June 21 to August 23, and during this time he not only secured data which indicated that the charges against the Cormorant are unfounded but made an interesting contribution to our knowledge of the life-history of that bird.
There is more in Mr. Taverner’s thoughtful, well-written paper than is indicated by its title. We trust that it will be read by each of the complaining anglers!—F. M. C.