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Sketch Book of British Birds. By R. 

 BowDLER Sharpe, L. L. D. , F. L. S. 

 With Colored Illustrations by A. F. and 

 C. Lydon, London : Society for Pro- 

 moting Christian Knowledge, New York, 

 E. & J. B. Young & Co. 4to. Pages 

 XX -j- 255. Numerous, colored illus- 

 trations. Price, $6. 



Although more books have been written 

 about British birds than on the birds of 

 any other region, and although Dr. Sharpe 

 has written more bird books than any 

 other living ornithologist, this we believe 

 is the first treatise he has produced on the 

 birds of his native land. He explains that 

 the text is only a "running commentary " 

 on the pictures, but claims that his 

 "Systematic Index" is "the most com- 

 plete record of the birds in the ' British 

 List ' yet published." It enumerates 445 

 species of birds which, according to Dr. 

 Sharpe, have been recorded from Great 

 Britain. In his ' Introduction ' he classi- 

 fies these according to the manner of 

 their occurrence, as follows : Species 

 which have probably escaped from con- 

 finement, 14 ; Indigenous species, 138 ; 

 Visitors from the South — regular, 70, 

 occasional or accidental, 6g ; Visitors from 

 the East — regular, 5, accidental or occa- 

 sional, 38; Visitors from the North — regu- 

 lar, 35, occasional or accidental, 29 ; 

 Visitors from the West — regular i, occa- 

 sional, 43. The latter are all American 

 species, and the number recorded indicates 

 how much more frequently our birds are 

 found on the other side of the Atlantic 

 than European birds are observed here. 



The illustrations consist of colored 

 vignettes in the text of nearly every 

 species. They are not above criticism, 

 but, on the whole, are excellent and form 

 a far more certain and convenient aid to 

 identification than the most detailed de- 

 scription or elaborate key. In many 

 cases even American species of accidental 

 occurrence are figured, and, in this con- 

 nection, we are tempted to ask why 

 British authors cannot use for our birds 

 the names by which they are known in 



this country ? Who would recognize the 

 Rusty Blackbird under the name of the 

 "Rusty Black Hang-Nest," a misnomer 

 in every sense of the word, or our Robin 

 as the "American Thrush," to cite two 

 among numerous examples. f. m. c. 



Book News. 



It is exceedingly gratifying to find the 

 American Ornithologists' Union, as repre- 

 sented by Mr. Witmer Stone, the Chair- 

 man of its Committee on Bird Protection, 

 taking so strong a stand on the question 

 of egg-collecting. In his annual report to 

 the Union (The Auk, XVI, January. 1899, 

 p. 61), Mr. Stone says, "Egg-collecting has 

 become a fad which is encouraged and 

 fostered by the dealers until it is one of 

 the most potent causes of the decrease in 

 our birds. The vast majority of egg-col- 

 lectors contribute nothing to the science 

 of ornithology, and the issuing of licenses 

 promiscuously to this class makes any law 

 for bird protection practically useless. 



"Too often boys regard the formation 

 of a large collection of eggs or birds 

 as necessarily the first step towards be- 

 coming an ornithologist of note ; but if 

 those who have already won their spurs 

 will take the trouble to point out to the 

 beginners the lines of work which yield 

 results of real benefit to science, they will 

 be led to see exactly how much collecting 

 and what sort of specimens are really 

 needed for scientific research, and not 

 needlessly duplicate what has already 

 been procured. Further, they will in all 

 probability become known as original con- 

 tributors to ornithological science, while 

 as mere collectors they would bid fair to 

 remain in obscurity." 



Mr. Stone's report is of the utmost 

 interest to all workers for the better pro- 

 tection of our birds. We have not space 

 to notice it further here, but it may be 

 obtained by addressing him at the Acad- 

 emy of Natural Science, Philadelphia, 

 Pa., and enclosing six cents in stamps. 



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