Vol 'i920 XVI1 ] R ecent Literature. 147 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



Van Oort's ' Birds of Holland.' l — A year ago we had the pleasure of 

 noticing the appearance of parts 1 and 2 of this important work. We are 

 now in receipt of parts 3 and 4 which, however, were issued in May last. 

 These fully maintain the high standard set by the first parts and both 

 plates and letter press are excellent. 



The plan of the work was fully set forth in our previous notice so that it 

 is not necessary to repeat it here. The present instalments complete the 

 Cormorants, cover all of the Ardeiformes, the Flamingo and the Swans. 

 The twenty plates, lOf by 14 inches are admirably colored and represent 

 the principal variations in plumage to be found in each species. As might 

 be expected the subjects lend themselves to more artistic treatment than 

 those of parts 1 and 2 and many of them are a distinct, improvement in this 

 respect. The text runs from page 57 to 120 and is beautifully printed 

 and typographical errors seem to be rare. An errata page is included in 

 this fasciculus calling attention to the presence of parentheses about the 

 names of authors in a number of cases where they should have been omitted 

 — the result of an effort for uniformity on the part of the printer or proof- 

 reader which is the despair of editors in America as well as in Holland! We 

 trust that Dr. Van Oort may be enabled to proceed rapidly with the remain- 

 ing parts of his great work. — W. S. 



Taverner's 'Birds of Eastern Canada.' 2 — This notable work has 

 been prepared to meet a growing demand for a handbook that will present 

 in concise form the more important information on the habits and distribu- 

 tion of the birds of East Canada and keys and descriptions that will enable 

 one to identify them. In providing for all these needs we think that the 

 author has been remarkably successful. 



The key carries one as a rule only to the familus but the numerous figures 

 with which it is supplied illustrate the heads of several of the most striking 

 species in each. In large families like the Warblers and Finches, however, 

 the reader must work from the several descriptions without any key to 

 guide him. The descriptions are usually divided into two sections entitled 

 " Distinctions " and " Field marks " and there are two others " Nesting " 

 and " Distribution." There is also a paragraph headed " Subspecies " 

 in which the geographic races are briefly mentioned after which comes a 



1 Ornithologia Neerlandica. De Vogels van Nederland door Dr. E. D. Van Oort. Direc- 

 teur van's Rijks Museum van Naturlijke Historie te Leiden. Met ongeveer vierhonderd 

 gekleurd platen. Martinus Nijhoff. Lange Voorhout 9, The Hague, Holland. Aflever- 

 ing 3 and 4. 



2 Birds of Eastern Canada. By P. A. Taverner. Memoir 104, No. 3, Biological Series. 

 Canadian Geological Survey. Ottawa, 1919. pp. 1-297, figs. 1-68, colored plates I-L. 

 Price 50 cts. 



