62 JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



certain ones containing records that may be regarded as hypothet. 

 ical. Reflection upon the point resulted in the decision to repro- 

 duce them for several reasons. They have a value and interest 

 from the historical point of view, as contributions to our local avi- 

 fauna. We find in them a charm and interest that grows upon us 

 as we read them, and look backward to the conditions of ornitho- 

 logical science at that time. 



The epoch of ornithological biographies had come to a close, 

 while the epoch of critical revision was coming into dominance. 

 The period of faunal studies had hardly assumed definite form. 

 Baird, Cassin and Lawrence were the dominating figures of the 

 day.* As a local student, Mr. Beckett commands a period by 

 himself. When his final paper on Sparrows was delivered. Holmes, 

 Boardman and Verrill were still unheard from in ornithological lit- 

 erature. His name does not appear in the writings of his contem- 

 poraries, or his successors. This is a fact to be regretted, for had 

 he been in correspondence with Baird or Brewer, his observations 

 would have been contributions to the History of North American 

 Birds, and other works, and that portion relating to Maine would 

 have been more representative than it now is. 



It may be pointed out that in 1858 Mr. Beckett stated, as the 

 result of his investigations, the occurrence of nearly three hundred 

 species of birds in the state. This fact is a testimonial of his skill 

 and industry, as the following summary will emphasize. In 1839 

 Audubon had accredited to Maine only about one hundred and 

 thirty -six species, and in 1861 the first ostensible state catalogue, 

 by Dr. Ezekiel Holmes, contained but one hundred and ninety- 

 three species, to which he added thirteen the next year. In 1862, 

 Professor Hitchcock, with the assistance of E. A. Samuels, listed 

 but two hundred and thirty, and Professor Verrill recorded but 

 two hundred and sixty-six species. It was not until 1882-83 that 

 three hundred birds were recorded in the literature of the state. 



At a meeting of the Portland Society of Natural History, held 



*Of course several other eminent names had appeared, but theirs were peri- 

 ods of a later time. 



