AGO Recent Literature. [J"'y 



Capen's 'Oology of New England.'* — Under this title Mr. Capen has 

 published a handsome volume, illustrating in color the eggs of our New 

 England birds. It is a work which will, "no doubt, be welcomed bj many 

 who are interested in egg-collecting, and they will find these colored illus- 

 trations of great assistance in the identification of specimens. Short de- 

 scriptions of the eggs and nests are given, together with notes on the 

 breeding habits of the species. 



We wish that the author had given his authority for including among 

 the birds known to breed in New England, such species as Empidonax 

 acadicus, Polioptila ccerulea, and Thryothorus ludovicianus-, while omit- 

 ing others, such as Plectrophcnax nivalis and Lanius borealis. 



The typography and general appearance of the book is excellent, the 

 plates especially being far better than colored lithographs usually are. 

 — C. B. C. 



Nests and Eggs of the Birds of Ohio. — We have a double number of 

 this great work, which inaintains the high character of which we have 

 often spoken already. It is Parts 21 and 22, pp. 235-2S6, pll. Ixi-lxvi. 

 Of the six plates, three are devoted to various eggs, chiefly of water birds, 

 and birds of prey without nests. Of those with nests, pi. Ixi represents 

 Lanivirco Jlavifrons and Helininthophaga chrysoptera; pi. Ixv, Seiuriis 

 atiricapillus; pi. Ixvi, Pariis atricafilliis. — E. C. 



Mrs. Miller's 'Bird- Ways. 't — Few more delightful bird-books have ap- 

 peared than Mrs. Miller's 'Bird- Ways,' it being of equal interest to the 

 bird-lover and the specialist. In style it is simply admirable, from the 

 purity and simplicity of its diction. The book is made up largely of articles 

 previously published in the 'Atlantic' and other magazines, but contains 

 several papers not before printed. Mrs. Miller is a genuine bird-lover, 

 intelligent and accurate in her observations, wiiether of birds in the 

 aviary or in the field. Many of her sketches relate to some of our native 

 birds kept as household pets, and include the Robin, the Wood Thrush, 

 the Catbird, the Red-winged Blackbird, and the Baltimore Oriole. There 

 is also a chapter on the European Song Thrush, while no less than five 

 are devoted to the European House Sparrow, which latter have the following 

 headings: 'A Ruffian in Feathers,' 'A Tragedy in the Maple-tree,' 'Trouble 

 in the Honeysuckles,' 'The Bird of the Street,' and 'These are your Brothers.' 

 In these are well depicted the character and domestic life of this discordant 

 and now unwelcome denizen of our streets and parks. The chapter on the 

 Robin is suggestively headed 'The Bird of the Morning' ; the two chap- 

 ters on the Wood Thrush are entitled respectively 'The Bird of Solitude,' 

 and 'A Gentle Spirit,' while the Red-winged Blackbird is 'The Bird of 



*061ogy of New England; a description of the Eggs, Nests and Breeding Habits of 

 the Birds known to breed in New England, with colored illustrations of their Eggs, 

 By Edwin A. Capen. Boston, 1886, 410., pp. 116, pll. xxv. 



tBird-Ways. By Olive Thome Miller. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mififlin 

 & Company, 1885. i6mo., pp. viii, 227. 



