54 " BULLETIN No. 35 



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 



Birds of Springfield and Vicinity.— ^y Robert O. Morris. 

 The town of Sprino;field lies on tiie Connecticut river hut a few 

 miles north of the dividing line between Massachusetts and Con- 

 necticut, hi the preparation of the work the autlior passes 

 over well beaten ground. From this very place the Rev. Wm. 

 B. O. Peabody, Dr. J. A. Allen, F. H. Keys and W. W. Col- 

 burn, have enriched our ornithological literature; while Messrs. 

 Emmons, Clark, Waters, Hoffman, and Drs. Merriam, Wood, 

 and Faxon, have also done more or less work within the terri- 

 tory covered by the present volume. It has all appearance of 

 having been done in a most through manner. The style is easy, 

 direct and pleasing; many very valuable facts are related in an 

 unassuming manner, and the description of the surrounding 

 country is particularly fine and easily comprehended. 254 

 species and sub-species are recorded, all of which, with the ex- 

 ception of less than a fifth part, have come under the writer's 

 personal observation. To the above he adds 4 species of prob- 

 able occurence but excluded from insufficient evidence; 5 in- 

 troduced species, but one surviving — the ubiquitous and ever 

 increasing European House Sparrow; and finally 2 extirpated 

 species — the Heath Hen and Wild Turkey. 



A work of this kind bespeaks long experience, and Mr. Mor- 

 ris is to be congratulated upon the fact that the elegance of his 

 diction is further embellished by the work of the publisher. 



[F. L. B.] 



A Quantitative Study of yariation in the Smaller NortJi- 

 'iAmerica Shrikes. — This quantative study of variation to deter- 

 mine the status of a sub-species of birds, by our President, R. 

 M. Strong is a pioneer in the application of an exact criterion 

 for the determination of specfes and sub-species. There is no 

 little objection to this quantitative method of study from one 

 quarter and another, for no very good reason we can see. 

 Manifestly no other kind of study can bring us exact results. 

 A quantitative study is possible only when a large amount of 

 material is available from many different regions, and this is 



