iloofe jBteto^ ana i^etoietos 



A History of the Game Birds, Wild- 

 Fowl AND Shore Birds of Massachu- 

 setts AND Adjacent States, Including 

 those used for food, which have dis- 

 appeared since the settlement of the 

 country, and those which are now hunted 

 for food or sport, with observations on 

 their former abundance and recent 

 decrease in numbers; also the means of 

 conserving those still in existence. Bj^ 

 Edward Howe Forbush, State Orni- 

 thologist of Massachusetts. Illustrated 

 with drawings by W. T. Beecroft and 

 the author, and photographs by Her- 

 bert K. Job and others. Issued by the 

 Massachusetts State Board of Agri- 

 culture, 1912, 8vo, xvi + 622 pages; 

 37 half-tones, 108 line cuts. 



This book, the contents of which is 

 indicated by its title, is worthy to be 

 placed with its author's preceding work on 

 'Useful Birds and their Protection.' The 

 two volumes combined present a review of 

 the Massachusetts avifauna in a manner 

 eminently creditable alike to Mr. For- 

 bush and to the state of which he is orni- 

 thologist. 



After an historical introduction (pp. 

 1-35) containing a graphic pen picture of 

 the former abundance of game birds in 

 America, we have (Part I, pp. 39-396) 

 more or less extended biographies, accom- 

 panied by descriptions of plumage and 

 line-cuts, of nearly everv species, of the 

 Grebes, Loons, Ducks, Geese, Swans, 

 Rail, Gallinules, Shore-birds, Bob-white, 

 Grouse, and Dove. 



Part II (pp. 399-494) presents a "his- 

 tory of the game birds, and other birds 

 hunted for food or sport, which have been 

 driven out of Massachusetts and adjacent 

 states, or exterminated, since the settle- 

 ment of the country." The data given 

 here are of much historical and biological 

 importance. The species treated are the 

 Great Auk, Labrador Duck, Eskimo Cur- 

 lew, Passenger Pigeon, Trumpeter Swan, 

 Whooping and Sandhill Cranes, and Wild 

 Turkey. 



The one-time abundance of these birds, 

 their gradual decrease in number, and the 



causes which have led to their disappear- 

 ance, are here stated at length, no less 

 than thirty-nine pages being devoted to 

 the Pigeon alone. 



A recountal of the conditions which have 

 led to the loss of these birds naturally 

 leads to the practical discussion of the 

 Conservation of Game Birds found in 

 Part III (pp. 479-595;. Here is given just 

 the kind of information in regard to the 

 causes of decrease and methods of attrac- 

 tion and protection of game birds which a 

 state desirous of preserving its assets in 

 game-bird life should bring to the atten- 

 tion of its citizens. ^Ir. Forbush's work 

 therefore appeals to the ornithologist, the 

 sportsman, and the conservationist, each 

 of whom may turn to it for authoritative 

 information. — F. ]M. C. 



A Hand-List of British Birds, with an 

 Account of the Distribution of 

 Each Species in the British Isles 

 .\nd Abroad. By Ernest Hartert, 

 F. C. Jourdaix, X. F. Ticehurst, and 

 H. F. Witherby. Witherby & Co., 326 

 High Holborn, London, W. C, 191 2. 



The fact that this volume is produced by 

 individual effort, rather than bj' the Brit- 

 ish Ornithologists' Union, and the plea of 

 its authors for a strict observance of the 

 rules of the International Commission on 

 Zoological Nomenclature, rather than an 

 indiscriminate yielding to one's own "con- 

 venience, likes, and dislikes," gives the 

 American reader cause to rejoice in the 

 existence of the standard nomenclature 

 which the American Ornithologists' Union 

 supplies in its 'Check-List.' Aside from 

 its greater authoritativeness, however, the 

 American book contains less information 

 concerning the species treated than the 

 British one. The latter lists only 469 

 species and subspecies, or less than one- 

 half the number contained in the Ameri- 

 can Ornithologists' Union 'Check-List,' 

 and consequently more space can be 

 devoted to each bird. References are 

 given to the original description (with 



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