Vol. xxn o 4 T u 



,Qo^ J Recent Literature. '?Q'? 



meanwhile called phce'-be from a tree near by, dishing his tail and sweep- 

 ing out after insects. 



Other phcEbes were seen about the same time in the vicinity. One, 

 which was apparently catching insects for its young, was seen around 

 one of the deep pools on the outskirts of Santa Rosa. The conditions 

 in these places are so favorable that it would indeed seem strange if 

 wanderers through the region were not occasionally tempted to stop. — 

 Florence Merriam Bailey, Washington, D. C. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



Hoffmann's ' Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New 

 York.' 1 — Happy the beginner into whose hands this little volume falls! 

 for his first impressions of bird life, whatever else may betide, will never 

 have to be unlearned. Here is a refreshing book that sets a new standard 

 for similar guides while putting to shame many of greater pretensions. 

 Mr. Hoffmann's long experience as a field observer and his ready grasp 

 of the needs of the beginner have enabled him to season his pages with 

 much that is not only crisply original but, at the same time, is of very 

 practical application in identifying birds afield. We are told in a tew 

 words what open eyes may see out-of-doors. The pieliminary chapters 

 are concise, the keys, entirely for field identification, are arranged for 

 every month in the year, and the bulk of the volume is devoted to snap- 

 shot pen pictures of over two hundred and fifty familiar species of New 

 England birds. The rarities are omitted, but so true to life are these 

 snap shots that I am sure many of us can almost hear the songs and notes 

 familiar to our ears and see the characteristic markings and motions so 

 faithfully portrayed. One of the chief charms of the book is its uniform- 

 ity. No species is slighted, and the care with which the author dwells 

 upon diagnostic details of plumages, actions, and songs has perhaps never 



1 A Guide to the | Birds of New England | and | Eastern New York | Con- 

 taining a Key for each Season and short | Descriptions of over two hundred 

 and I fifty Species with particular Refer- | ence to their Appearance | in the 

 Field I By | Ralph Hoffmann | Member of the American Ornithologists' Union 

 I With four full-page plates by Louis | Agassiz Fuertes and nearly | one hun- 

 dred cuts in I the text | [vignette] | Boston and New York | Houghton, Mifflin 

 and Company | The Riverside Press, Cambridge | 1904. — i2mo, pp. i-xiii, 

 -\- 1-357, pll. iv, cuts in text. $1.50. 



