iSooH J0teto0 antj 3^et)ieta0 



Directory to the Birds of Eastern 

 North America. Illustrated with many 

 woodcuts and twenty plates drawn and 

 engraved by the author. By Charles J. 

 Maynard, West Newton, Mass. C. J. 

 Maynard. 1907. lamo. 20 plates, many 

 text-cuts. 



With a wide experience in the field, as 

 •well as with pen, pencil and brush, and an 

 independent attitude of mind which does 

 •not bow to conventions, the originality 

 -which usually marks Mr. Maynard's con- 

 tributions to ornithology is particularly 

 evident in the ])resent volume, a copy of 

 ■which we have but lately received for 

 review. 



The classification adopted is in the 

 main that of the A. O. U., but no hesita- 

 tion is shown in departing from that stan- 

 dard; the Limicolae, for example, being 

 placed directly after the Rhynchopidae, 

 ^vhile the Titmice follow the Jays. There 

 are also numerous departures from the 

 A. O. U. 'Check-List,' in the order of 

 species and in the use of generic and spe- 

 cific names. In the Warblers, no less than 

 fourteen new generic names are proposed; 

 but none of them, we believe, has been 

 accepted by the Union. 



The text includes matter under Orders, 

 Families, Genera, Species and Sub- 

 species, and contains much general and 

 specific information presented in a con- 

 densed, direct form. In a large measure 

 it is based on the author's own observa- 

 tions, and is therefore of more importance 

 to the ornithologist than the work of a 

 compiler. 



Mr. Maynard speaks as one in authority, 

 but we notice a few slips. The cut on 

 page 8, for example, fails to show the 

 reverse imbrication of the median and 

 greater wing-coverts. Again, the keel on 

 the White Pelican's bill is not retained 

 until autumn, but is usually shed before 

 the eggs hatch, while the young Flamingo 

 is not helpless, but can run shortly after 

 birth. It would be well, also, to change 

 "Phoebe," on page 196, to Pewee, in 

 making the comparison of the Chickadee's 



whistle. The reported Ijreeding of the 

 Man-o'War Bird and Flamingo in Florida, 

 and the nesting of Carolina Paroquets "in 

 communities," coming from Mr. Maynard, 

 demand consideration, and we trust that 

 the details on which these records are 

 doubtless based will be published. — 

 F. M. C. 



The Birds of New Jersey; Their 

 Nests and Eggs. By Witmer Stone. 

 Annual report of the New Jersey State 

 Museum for 1908. Trenton, N. J. 1909. 

 8vo. Part II, pages 11 to 347; plates i 

 to 84. 



It is not a little remarkable that a state 

 as small as New Jersey, with two of the 

 largest and oldest cities in the country on 

 its borders, has heretofore had no authori- 

 tative work on its birds, with the excep- 

 tion of two publications including eastern 

 Pennsylvania as well. An exception might 

 also be made of 'The Birds of New 

 Jersey,' published by the Fish and Game 

 Commission, in 1896; but this work, 

 however reliable and useful, is wholly a 

 compilation, with the species arranged 

 alphabetically under their common names. 

 The annotated list issued by the state in 

 1868, and its successor of 1890, are both 

 wholly untrustworthy. There have, how- 

 ever, been several excellent local lists 

 published, notably those of Morris county 

 and Princeton, and one including in its 

 scope the area within fifty miles of New 

 York City. 



The present work is much more than 

 a mere faunal list. To use the author's 

 words: "The aim has been to present 

 keys and descriptions that will enable 

 any one to identify birds that he may see, 

 to give a brief sketch of the more charac- 

 teristic habits of the common species, and 

 at the same time to include such facts 

 and records on the distribution of all the 

 species as will make the report a thor- 

 oughly up-to-date list of the birds of the 

 state." That the author's aim has been 

 achieved, there can be no doubt. The 

 biographical paragraphs are to the jjoint, 



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