LITERARY NOTICES. 



705 



atcd which lie east of a well-cbserved laud- 

 area, because most disturbances in the tem- 

 perate zone move from the west. Hence, 

 the eastern United States can usually count 

 on timely waruinj^ of approaching storms. 

 Still, infallibility can not be expected, how- 

 ever favorable the locality. " It is impossi- 

 ble to suppose," says the author, " that we 

 have yet nearly reached the highest perfec- 

 tion of which forecasting is capable, but 

 still we know enough of the nature of the 

 subject to say with certainty that calcula- 

 tion will never enter much into the science 

 of weather-prevision. Natural aptitude and 

 tlie experience of many j^ears' study are the 

 qualificatipns of a successful forecaster. 

 In fact, meteorology is not an exact but an 

 observational science, like geology or medi- 

 cine." 



A Manual of Xorth American Birds. By 

 Robert RiDGVVAy. Philadelphia : J. B. 

 Lippincott Company. Pp. 631, with 124 

 Plates, containing 464 Outline Drawings 

 of the Generic Characters. Price, $7.30. 

 This noble book, embodjing descrip- 

 tions of all the birds known to frequent 

 the United States, was originally projected 

 by Professor Spencer F. Baird, who had 

 collected, in sympathy with its purpose, the 

 great cabinet of American birds now form- 

 ing a part of the National Museum. The 

 pressure of official duties which fell upon 

 him prevented his completing the scheme, 

 or even carrying it on. The task— or "the 

 privilege," as he expresses it — of continuing 

 the work then fell to the present author, 

 who is known as an enthusiastic naturalist, 

 and especially interested in birds. He has 

 endeavored to make of it such a manual as 

 its projector would have desired to see as 

 the fruit of his conception. The object of 

 the volume is to furnish a conveniont man- 

 ual of North American ornithology, reduced 

 to the smallest compass by the omission of 

 everything that is not absolutely necessary 

 for determining the character of any given 

 specimen, and including, besides the correct 

 nomenclature of each species, a statement 

 of its natural habitat, and other concomi- 

 tant data ; to provide a handy book for the 

 sportsman and traveler, as well as for the 

 resident naturalist. The greater part of the 

 material on which the work is based has 

 been furnished by the collection of Ameri- 

 you XXIII. — 45 



can birds and their eggs which forms a 

 part of the National Museum. The collec- 

 tions of the American Museum of Natural 

 History, in New York city ; of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia ; of the 

 Boston Society of Natural History ; and of 

 the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at 

 Cambridge, Massachusetts, have also been 

 consulted ; and acknowledgment is made 

 that the private collections of George N. 

 Lawrence, of New York city ; William 

 Brewster, of Cambridge, Massachusetts ; 

 and H. W. Hcnshaw, of Washington, have 

 furnished indispensable material in the way 

 of extra-limital species or more extensive 

 series of certain species. Not consultation 

 of specimens alone, however, has been de- 

 pended upon ; " for, however much the prop- 

 er discrimination of species and subspecies 

 may be a question of material, a great deal 

 depends upon our knowledge of the birds 

 in li-fo, their natural surroundings, and 

 other things which can be learned only out 

 of doors. Fortunately, a very large number 

 of accomplished field-naturalists have care- 

 fully observed the habits of our birds, and 

 through their published records have to- 

 gether contributed a vast store of infor- 

 mation which no single person could him- 

 self have gained. To the much that has 

 been gleaned from this source have been 

 added the author's field-notes, collected dur- 

 ing the period extending from a recent 

 date back to the year 1863, and embracing 

 many measurements of fresh specimens, 

 notes on location of nests, first colors of 

 bill, eyes, feet, etc., and various other use-, 

 f ul memoranda." It is intended to embrace 

 the North American epecies, as they arc in- 

 cluded within the geographical limits defined: 

 in the American Ornithological Union's, 

 check-list. But it has at the same time 

 been deemed desirable to include certain 

 extra-limital species from contiguous coun- 

 tries ; such as those which are known. to in- 

 habit Socorro Island, off the coast of north- 

 western Mexico, which is North American in 

 its zoological affinities; those species which, 

 have been included for the sake of compari- 

 son, or on account of the greater or less-, 

 probability of their occurrence within the 

 southern boundary of the United States ; 

 and certain " high-sea " 'species whose wan- 

 derings may make them, liable to reach ouv 



