38 



THE OSPEEY. 



Richardson; and we may, therefore, be per- 

 mitted to express our opinion, in the words of 

 another writer, that 'they are models of perfec- 

 tion.' 



This work may be properly designated as a 

 great one. Dr. Couesf expressed the opinion 

 that "the influence which this work exerted 

 cannot well be overstated. It occupied in the 

 present century the place previously rilled by 

 the works of Edwards, Forster, Pennant and 

 Latham, so far as the birds of America north of 

 49° north latitude are concerned; for forty years 

 following its publication, it was the chief source 

 of inspiration of numberless writers on the 

 same subject, and it continues to be a standard 

 authority." 



It was a complement rather than a rival to the 

 works previously published or in the course of 

 publication on the Minis of North America, for 

 those related chiefly or even almost exclusively 

 to the species occurring further south, in the 

 United States. Wilson's "American Ornitho- 

 logy" had already become almost old having 

 been published seventeen to twenty-three years 

 before and the nomenclature adopted therein 

 was that of the Linnean school. Bonaparte's 

 "American Ornithology," a continuation of 

 Wilson's, was almost complete, three volumes 

 having been published (1825-28) but the fourth 

 did not appear till two years later (1833). Audu- 

 bond's Atlas ("The Birds of America") was 

 being carried through the press; the first volume 

 of 100 plates had already appeared (1827-30) as 

 well as the first plates of the second, but the 

 completion did not see the light till 1838. Audu- 

 bon's text ("Ornithological Biography") began 

 to appear in the same year, the first volume bear- 

 ing the date 1831, but was not completed till 

 nine years later (1839). There was thus re- 

 markable activity in the publication of expen- 

 sive ornithological works at the time— especially 

 remarkable when the population of the United 

 States is considered. The recent census (1830) 

 had revealed a number less than thirteen mil- 

 lions (12.866,020). The number of amateur orni- 

 thologists or those interested in birds was com- 

 paratively small — far less in proportion than at 

 the present time. We can not but admire, then, 

 the boldness which the \ ublishers of the works 

 in question sin. wed in undertaking them with- 

 out subsidies. The "Fauna Boreali-Ameri- 

 cana," however, was subsidized by the Knglish 

 Government and, as the title-page indicates, 

 "published under the authority of the right 

 honourable the Secretary of State for colonial 

 affairs" by John Murray. The scope of the 

 work has been so well indicated by Coues that 

 his description may be accepted rather than a 

 new one which would not be better. 



"The work has a twofold character it is an 

 account of the Birds of the Fur Countries, inter- 

 spersed with contributions from Mr. Swainson 

 to general ornithology — the latter in the shape 

 of disquisitions, foreign to the scope and purpose 

 of the book, upon the quinary, miscalled the 

 natural, system: wildly speculative articles 

 which, though in the fashion at the time, add 

 considerably to the bulk of the volume without 



perceptibly increasing its value, and are chiefly 

 noticed now because they include several new 

 tenable generic names. 



"Dr. Richardson's Introduction (pp. i-xl), con- 

 stituting a treatise by itself, opens with a his- 

 torical sketch of the subject. The collections 

 made on the Arctic coast during the voyages of 

 Ross and Parry are described along with those 

 made in the interior on the Franklin expeditions 

 which Dr. Richardson accompanied. The cir- 

 cumstances under which the latter were made 

 are detailed, and the general character of the 

 avifauna is sketched. Various elaborate tables 

 follow, displaying- the several categories of 

 species, their movements, etc. The remainder 

 of the Introduction is occupied by Mr. Swainson, 

 more sito: the Preface is from the same hand, 

 though it is less distinctively quinarian. The 

 body of the work treats formally of 238 species, 

 giving' detailed descriptions, miscellaneous bio- 

 graphical items, and considerable synonymy, 

 together with the foreign disquisitions above 

 commented upon, which are discontinued, how- 

 ever, at page 342. The nomenclature, as well as 

 the classification, appears to be Mr. Swainson 's 

 for the land birds; for the rest. Temminck's 

 Manual is followed. The minute descriptions 

 suffice for the identification of nearly every 

 species of the work, while Swainson's plates 

 have long been famous for their faithfulness 

 both in drawing and coloring; copies vary, how- 

 ever, in the latter respect. 



"The following appear to be new names, (some 

 of extralimital species), described for the most 

 part by Mr. Swainson. some being, however, by 

 Dr. Richardson, and two or three by the authors 

 conjointly: 



. lecipiter mexicanus, p. 45. 



Buteo (Circus) cyaneusf var.? Americanus, 

 p. 55. 



Lanius excubitorides, p. 115. 



/.. elegans, p. 122. 



Tyrannus borealis, p. 141. 



Tyrannula pusilla, p. 144. 



'I'. iii kardsoni, p. 146. 



Cinclus Americanus, 173 [altered name from 

 C. i/it'A icanus of 1827|. 



Orpheus meruloides, p. 187 [renamed from con- 

 fessedly beforenamed species]. 



Si nl in mexicana, p. 2n2. 



/ ; vthaca [Sialia) arctica, p. 209. 



Vireo Bartramii, p. 235. 



/ '. longirostris, p. 257. 



Emberiza (Plectrop/ianes) picta, p. 25n. 



Fmberiza pallida, p. 251. 



Pyrgita {Pipilo) arctica, p. 260. 



/ ma i i,i (Leucosticte) tephrocotis, p. 265. 



Garrulus brackyrynchus, p. 296. 



Picus anduboni, p. 396. 



Pints (Apternus) arcticus, p. 313. 



Tetrao '■iankliiiii . p. 348. 



Tetrao [Lagopus] leucurus, p. 356. 



Tringa Douglasii, p. 379. 



Litnosa Edwardsii, p. 398. 



Scolopax Drumondii, S. Douglasii, and S. Bra- 

 : iliensis, p. 4(in. 



Larus Hutchinsii, p. 419 (note). 



/ . zonorhynchus, p. 421. 



tBirds of tli- I V Hey, i>. ''.Hi, 



