Recently published Ornithological Works* 381 



46. Allen's ' Progress of Ornithology in the United States.' 



[Progress of Ornithology in the United States during the last century. 

 By J. A. Allen. American Naturalist, vol. x. p. 536,] 



This essay of Mr. Allen^s gives a succinct account of the 

 rise and progress of the study of our science in the Uni- 

 ted States from the days of Alexander Wilson (1808) to 

 the present period, and is well worthy of the attention of all 

 ornithologists. When Bonaparte finished his continuation 

 of Wilson^s work in 1833, about 400 species of birds had been 

 described as appertaining to the avifauna of the United States. 

 ^' At the present time the number of generally accepted species 

 entitled to recognition as birds of that portion of North 

 America north of Mexico is not less than six hundred and 

 fifty, witii, in addition, about one hundred and fifty commonly 

 recognized subspecies, or about, eight hundred recognized 

 forms. 



" The nests, eggs, and general habits of nearly all are now 

 well known, particularly of those which occur east of the 

 Rocky Mountains. ^^ 



" Another phase of progress,^^ Mr. Allen observes, " that 

 should not pass unnoticed in this connexion is the attention 

 that has been paid to the geographical distribution of the 

 species, with especial reference to the determination of the 

 different faunal areas in North America, many of which are 

 already known with a tolerable degree of definiteness, also the 

 tendency to study the various subspecific and specific forms 

 from a geographical and evolutionary standpoint. Formerly 

 the study of our birds was pursued wholly analytically, and 

 forms from distant, little-known localities which difter'ed 

 slightly from their near affines of neighbouring regions, were 

 looked upon as distinct ' species.' Later, as the material for 

 a better knowledge of the subject accumulated, specimens of 

 an intermediate character came to light, which, so long as 

 they were few, were naturally looked upon as probably hybrids 

 between the forms whose characters they seemed to combine. 

 Still later, however, it was found that certain strains of devi- 

 ation from pronounced types occurred in a large number of 

 species belonging to widely different families inhabiting the 



