THE OSPREY. 



63 



second plate depicts eggsof various Warblers, 

 and a number of nests and eggs of the Ruby- 

 throated Huniniingbird, the latter "selected 

 from a series of 40 sets." What possible ad- 

 vance can there be to science for a single private 

 student to possess 150 eggs of the Red tailed 

 Hawk or 40 sets of Hummingbird eggs? The 

 great National Museum collection only em- 

 braces 29 eggs of the Rubv-throated Humming- 

 bird, as It is well known that they are utiifornily 

 white and unspotted and of only very slight 

 variation in size. The spii it that prompts an 

 accumulation of a collection of the above men 

 tioned magnitude cau only be compared to that 

 of the miser who gloats over his board. It is 

 not science ! 



Accouipanying this ' booklet ' is a printed cir- 

 cular announcing the speedy publication of 

 another ' booklet ' that is to bear the pretentions 

 title of "Gleanings From Nature No. i. Ab- 

 normities in the O'llugical Collection of J. War- 

 ren Jacobs." It is to be devoted to descriptions 

 o( an "interesting collection of abnormals" 

 including " runts, albinos and curiously shaped 

 and marked eggs.'' Exchange is invited of 

 "abnormities" of this character, for which the 

 collector will receive "full credit" as well as 

 " two copies of the book free." 



It is impossible to dissociate this ' fad,' for 

 it is nothing else, from the regular dime mu- 

 seum and its accompanying list of freaks, such 

 as double-headed chickens and the like. 



The list is also accompanied by a newspaper 

 clipping, "Spare the Hawks and Owls" — for the 

 obvious purpose of enabling our enterprising 

 student!! I to collect 50 more sets of these eggs. 

 — F. H. K. 



Ca/a/0!;/ir of Hiids in llir /Iri/ish flfiisriiiii. — 

 Volume XXVI. London 1S9.8. Svo., pp. i- 

 xviii, 1-6SS; pll. 14. 



This monumeutal work, one of the most ex- 

 tensive and important ever contributed to the 

 literature of ornithology, is now brought to a 

 successful close by the appearance of the 

 twenty-sixth volume — the twenty-seventh hav- 

 ing been published in 1S95. The series was 

 projected more than twenty five years ago, aud 

 the first volume appeared in June, 1S74. It was 

 at first contemplated that Dr. K. Jiowdler 

 Sharpe should undertake the work; but this 

 was soon seen to be beyond one-man power, 

 and several other eminent ornithologists have 

 contributed to the whole result. The=e are, in 

 the order in which their assistance was render- 

 ed, Mr. Henry .Seebohm, Dr. Hans Gadow, Mr. 

 P. L. .Sclater, Mr. Osbert Salvin, Mr. Ernst Uar- 

 tert, Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, Mr. Edward 

 Hargitt, Captain G. F;. Shelley, Count T. Salva- 

 dovi, and Mr. Howard Saunders. Among these 

 eleven authors Dr. Sharpe is conspicuous as the 

 author of eleven of the volumes, treating of up- 

 ward of 5,000 species, as against upward of 6.000 

 by all the other collaborators collectively. The 

 total of species treated is given at 11,548. 



This "Catalogue" is vastly more than its 

 name implies; it is a formal systematic treatise 

 on all birds known at the time of preparation 

 of the successive volumes, being based not only 

 on the immense collection in the British Mn- 



seum, but alsoou all the specimens available in 

 any public or private collection in the world. 

 There were in the British Museum in 1872 about 

 35 000 specimens; the number is now nearly 

 400,000. Every specimen in hand at the time 

 of writing has been catalogued, with the usual 

 data. But such lists, given under the head of 

 every species, are but a small part of the work. 

 Each species is treated with a copious if not 

 complete synonymy, almost exhaustive of the 

 standard literature of the subject. The huge 

 labor involved iu this is only tu be fully appre- 

 ciated by those wlio have undergone it; in the 

 cases of some well or long known siecies, the 

 bibliographical refei ences extend over several 

 jiages. Aside from the mere clerical labor in- 

 volved, the siftiug of synonymy in this prodig- 

 ious mass of names required expert work of the 

 highest technical character. Every recognized 

 species is also fully described, as nearly as pos- 

 sible for both sexes and all ages, the geo- 

 graphical distribution is very fully given. The 

 characters of the genera and higher groups are 

 stated, often at some considerable length, w-ith 

 analyses of species under genera, genera under 

 families, and families under orders. The whole 

 work is thus classificatory as well as synony- 

 matic and descriptive. Very numerous wood 

 cuts illustrate the text, besides which illustra- 

 tions, 540 specimens, mostly types, are figured 

 in colors upon 387 plates; aud choice has been 

 made of species previously unfigured. Having 

 such character as this, the work is of course far 

 and away the greatest exhibit of ornithology 

 extant. It would be almost iniDertinent to 

 praise it in general terms, for that goes without 

 saying; and the present is of course no place to 

 go into critical particulars. 



The volume before us is the joint labor of Dr. 

 Sharpe aud Mr. Ogilvie-Grant. The former 

 treats the Ibises, Spoonbills, Herons and Storks; 

 the latter, the Cormorants, Gannets, Frigates, 

 Tropic-birds, Pelicans. Loons, Grebes, Auks, 

 and Penguins; and this work is accomplished 

 in the masterly manner which is conspicuous in 

 every volume of the series. It will interest 

 readers of The Osprh v and Auk to learn that, if 

 the authors of this volume are right iu every in- 

 stance, some twenty changes are required in 

 the nomenclature of North American species 

 adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union. 

 Some of these result from difference between 

 American and British canons of nomenclature, 

 such as taking Linnieus at 1766 or at 175S; but 

 others are matters of ornithological science, re- 

 quiring our attention. It is needless to add 

 that no British author follows our absurd rule 

 of misspelling names, for no other reason than 

 that they were spelled wrongly at first. This is 

 a blot upon our Code which has done more than 

 all its other imperfections combined to keep it 

 from being generally adopted. 



Sir William H. Flower's preface to the present 

 volume, uDon which we have drawn for some of 

 our statements, announces a supplement to the 

 Catalogue, probably in two volumes, to bring 

 the contents of the earlier volumes fully up to 

 date, and also a general index to the whole, to 

 render the great mass of information it con- 

 tains more readily accessible. — E. C. 



