Swainson's Arrangement of Fly- Catchers. 889 



structural details, which are now required in entomological 

 drawings, and which so materially facilitate the acquisition 

 of a knowledge of the different generic groups. 



Art. II. Jardines Naturalist's Library. — Ornithology. — Musci- 

 capidce or Fly-catchers. — By W. Swainson, Esq. Lizars, Edin- 

 burgh; Highley, London. 



We have watched with interest the progress of the series of 

 works which compose Sir W. Jardine's ' Naturalist's Library.' 

 The success which has attended this attempt to make scien- 

 tific Zoology accessible and interesting to the community, is 

 a sufficient proof that authors may remunerate themselves, 

 and at the same time benefit the public, by conveying infor- 

 mation at a much cheaper rate than the price usually affixed 

 to works on natural history. Here is a book containing more 

 than thirty plates, beautifully engraved, and accurately, if not 

 elaborately, coloured, selling at six shillings, — not one third 

 of the price at which many works of no greater scientific va- 

 lue have been and are still published. 



The object of the volume is to exhibit Mr. Swainson's views 

 of the arrangement of the Muscicapidm, or fly-catchers. We 

 shall not here enter upon those theoretical notions which per- 

 vade all Mr. Swainson's writings,— the circular and quinary 

 progression of affinities, and the system of analogical repre- 

 sentation. These are subjects upon which many of our best 

 naturalists entertain directly opposite opinions, and which it 

 would be impossible to discuss, without entering into greater 

 detail than is consistent with our present limits. But what- 

 ever may be thought of Mr. Swainson's theories, that gentle- 

 man's labours have been of great benefit to Zoology, especially 

 by drawing the attention of naturalists to many minute, yet 

 important, variations of external structure, and by introducing 

 into his descriptions of species an accuracy of detail, which 

 is worthy of all imitation. Of this we have numerous exam- 

 ples in the work before us, as well as in Mr. Swainson's for- 

 mer volumes on the 'Birds of Western Africa.' Many of the 

 specific descriptions in the present volume are, however, de- 

 ficient in one point of great importance, namely, the habitat, 

 which is often omitted entirely, and in some cases only to be 

 gleaned with difficulty from the context. 



This work would have been rendered of greater scientific 

 value, if Mr. Swainson had prefixed to each genus a careful 

 and exact definition, for which his general dissertations are 

 a poor substitute. For want of such definitions, it would be 

 difficult for a person by the help of this book alone, to refer 



