284 



Recent Litcratuye. flul^ 



Wai^blers have been recorded as summer birds at points far south of 

 "Northern New England." The ascertained breeding range of the 

 Yellow-bellied Fl^xatcher should also have been allowed to include the 

 Catskills, if not a more southern point. 



An important feature, of both local and general interest, is the dates of 

 arrivals and departures of migrants at Washington, at Sing Sing, and at 

 Cambridge, contributed respectively by Mr. C. W. Richmond, Dr. A. K. 

 Fisher, and Mr. William Brewster. Similar records for the water birds 

 on Long Island have been supplied by Mr. William Dutcher. A further 

 illustration of the modern principle of co-operation is seen in the biog- 

 raphies, many of which have been contributed by well-known writers on 

 birds, whose names are signed to their contributions. By far the greater 

 number of these sketches have, however, been written by ]Mr. Chapman 

 himself. They are in all cases brief, and aim to present the bird in life 

 with especial reference to haunts, notes and habits — -such facts connected 

 Avith a bird's individuality as \\ould be likely to be of assistance to the 

 observer in the field. 



The illustrations are numerous and excellent, consisting of full-page 

 engraved half-tones, and pen and ink drawings in the text, prepared 

 expressly for their present use. A color chart for reference in connection 

 with the descriptions is a useful adjunct. 



The book as a whole presents us with the scientific and popular in 

 singularly harmonious union. Mr. Chapman has produced a note- 

 worthy contribution, both to general and to educational ornithology. 

 His volume takes rank among the authoritative works on North American 

 birds.— E. P. B. 



Minot's Land-Birds and Game-Birds of New England. Second 

 Edition. '^ — -Mr. Brewster, in his editorial preface, gives a fair and appre^ 

 ciative estimate of the value of ^Nlr. Minot's well-known manual, from 

 which we quote : "The 'Land-Birds and Game-Birds of New England' 

 is, in many respects, a remarkable and interesting book. Written bv a 

 youth of se\'enteen, with, as I am assured, almost no outside help of 

 either a literary or a scientific kind, it found favor at once, and for nearlj^ 

 twenty years has been ranked among the authorities on the subject of 

 which it treats. It has evidently owed this popularity partly to the 

 large amount of original matter which it contains, partly to the pleasant 

 style in which it is written, and in no small degree, apparentlv, to the 



' The I Land-Birds and Game-Birds | of | New England | with Descriptions 

 of the Birds, their Nests | and Eggs, their Habits and Notes | With Illustra- 

 tions I By I H. D. Minot | Second Edition | Edited by William Brewster ] 

 [Motto= 4 lines and publishers' monogram] Boston and New York] Hough- 

 ton, Mifllin and Company | The Riverside Press, Cambridge | 1895. 8vo. pp. 

 xxiv + 492, frontispiece, i pi., and 22 ill. in text. Cloth, $3.50. 



