Remarks on Wood's British Sons, Birds. 515 



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Art. II. Some Remarks on Mr. N. Wood's British Song Birds. 



By C. J. 



" Indeed, very many birds are strangely named, not less in pure Latin, 

 than in English, French, and Dutch ; and very many are every year receiv- 

 ing names still stranger than those they bore." — Audubon. 



These are the words of an ornithologist who has devoted 

 the greater part of a life to the study of the birds of his native 

 country; who has ascended the craggy eminence of the 

 mountain rock to examine the rude eyry of the eagle, and 

 waded through the morass to tell us of the economy of birds 

 that inhabit there ; who has wandered with untiring zeal 

 through the desert forests, and probed the cavities of perpen- 

 dicular cliffs, that he might inform the world of the peculiar 

 habits of the feathered race that dwell in those localities : 

 these are the words of a man who has examined with scru- 

 tinising accuracy into the habits and history of the birds of 

 America in their own peculiar haunts ; and, in giving to the 

 world the result of his laborious investigations, has raised 

 for himself a monument which will immortalise his name. 



Having, then, given the opinion of Audubon on the nomen-. 

 clature of birds, I will not presume to offer any remarks on 

 the list of appellations which appears in the table of contents 

 to Mr. N. Wood's book on the British song birds ; but will 

 proceed to note down a few observations on the book itself, 

 which, if they fail to interest your readers, may be the means 

 of attracting the attention of the author (should he honour 

 them with a perusal) to a few of the apparent defects and in- 

 accuracies (not of observation, but of taste and judgment) 

 which, in the humble opinion of the writer of this article, appear 

 to need correction and reconsideration : and, as the author, in 

 his preface, does not appear disinclined to receive any observa- 

 tions that may conduce to the improvement of a second edition 

 of his work, it is hoped that he may not take umbrage at the 

 following remarks of a sincere admirer of the feathered race. 



To begin, then, at the very beginning : — on the exterior of 

 the volume, the words " Wood's British Song Birds " are 

 printed in large golden characters, which fail not, at any rate, 

 to attract attention in the shop window. On opening the 

 book, we find the U house sparrow " included amongst the 

 birds of song, together with many others which possess equal 

 powers of melody. Now, as it has pleased Mr. N. Wood to 

 be rather facetious at the expense of the country gentlemen, 

 farmers, and gardeners, and to hold these worthy folk up 

 to ridicule for denominating the whole race of small birds 

 that may commit slight depredations on their corn and fruit 



