VO i8^6 IH ] Recent Literature. I^g 



these regions on its way to and from South America. That some species 

 of Cowbirds (p. 358; " seize upon the nests of others birds, and having 

 driven away the rightful possessors, proceed to rear their own voting in 

 their new home," must be a new discovery in the economy of these birds. 



Weaver-Birds (Ploceidae) are said to differ from Finches (Fringillidae) 

 in that some of the former undergo a partial spring moult; the fact being 

 that many genera of Finches also moult in the spring. Indeed, in many 

 families of birds, in genera closely allied, some have a spring moult and 

 others do not. 



Of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak (p. 3S1), its summer range, it is said, 

 " extends to Labrador." We will not, however, dwell on the inevitable 

 slips in a work of this nature. Among Passeres those inhabiting Europe 

 and especially the British Islands, naturally receive the most attention, 

 many of the more prominent species being noticed at considerable length ; 

 on the other hand, those of the two Americas receive little attention, even 

 those of North America coming in for slight notice, and generally only 

 when they belong to genera common also to the Old World. Thus of 

 the great American Family Tyrannidse, only two of the 400 species are 

 distinctively mentioned, and only one member of the great Family For- 

 micariidse, the family itself, as a group, being unnoticed. Nor is there any 

 reference to the interesting Family Pteroptochida;, although the little 

 group of Plant-cutters (Phytotomidrc) receives nearly a page. Of the 

 great number of Sparrows inhabiting North and South America, only 

 one is specially mentioned (that is, exclusive of so-called 'Buntings' and 

 Finches, allied for the most part to Old World forms) ; and this in such 

 a way as to be unrecognizable to American readers, except for the techni- 

 cal name given in parenthesis. Thus, says Mr. Macpherson, under the 

 heading ' Allied Genera' (p. 416): "The Sparrow-bunting (Zonotrickia 

 albicollis) belonging to a group of genera in which the tail is longer than 

 the wing," etc. — four lines in all. 



When North American birds are mentioned it is hard to understand 

 why, by both Mr. Macpherson and Dr. Sharpe, vernacular names are 

 given to them which no American reader would recognize, nor any 

 ornithologist, if the technical names were omitted, — names apparently 

 coined to suit the whim of the writer, regardless of the fact that the birds 

 already have book names almost as distinctive and as stable as the tech- 

 nical names of the systematists. Why our White-throated Sparrow 

 should be given the meaningless title of ' Sparrow Bunting,' or our 

 Crackles be dubbed ' Troupials,' or our White-throated Swift be called 

 ' Pied Swift,' to cite a few representative cases, it is hard to conceive. 



While the text of Dr. Sharpe's portion of the work is generallv much 

 more free from lapses than that relating to the Passeres, there is a curious 

 error on p. 43 (Vol. IV) where in speaking of different species of Night 

 Jars he says : "And a fourth, the one represented in the aceompan vino- 

 figure (C. virgintanus) tells you to -vliip-poor-xvill '. wkif-poor-iuill / in 

 tones wonderfully clear and startling." A glance at the cut, labeled ' Vir- 



