"^"gof ^] Recent Literature. ^ 7 



balanced manual ot the birds of the western United States. Indeed, as 

 stated in her 'prefatory note,' she has had the advice and the help of 

 experts, and the resources of the National Museum and Biological Survey 

 collections as a basis for the technical side of her work. 



In an ' introduction ' of nearly 80 pages are stated, first, the general 

 sources of information upon which she has relied in the general treat- 

 ment of the subject. Then follows a section (pp. xxvi-xxxiii) on collect- 

 ing and preparing birds, nests, and eggs by her husband, Mr. Vernon 

 Bailey, who has also contributed more or less of the biographical matter 

 throughout the book. There are directions for note-taking and keeping 

 journals, and several pages on ' life zones,' with a map, by her brother Dr. 

 C. Hart Merriam, of the United States west of about the looth meridian 

 and northern Mexico, shaded to indicate the various life areas. 'Migra- 

 tion' and 'economic ornithology' are briefly treated, and there are half a 

 dozen pages on ' bird protection ' by Dr. T. S. Palmer. Then follow a num- 

 ber of briefly annotated local lists, most of them here for the first time pub- 

 lished, as : ' List of the Birds of the vicinity of Portland, Oregon,' by A. 

 W. Anthony ; ' List of Water Birds of San Francisco Bay,' by William H. 

 Kobbe ; 'List of Birds of Santa Clara Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains^ 

 exclusive of Water Birds,' by Walter K. Fisher; ' Li.st of Birds to be 

 looked for in the vicinity of Pasadena,' by Joseph Grinnell; ' List of Birds 

 of Chej'enne and vicinity,' by Frank Bond. A 'List of the Birds of 

 Fort Sherman, Idaho,' is compiled from the late Dr. J. C. Merrill's notes 

 in Vols. XIV and XV of ' The Auk,' and a list for Pinal, Pima, and Gila 

 Counties, Arizona, is compiled from W. E. D. Scott's papers published in 

 Vols. III-V of ' The Auk.' An important but x^ry condensed list of 

 'Books of Reference' occupies pp. Ixxxiii-lxxxviii. 



The main body of the work (pp. 1-477 tieats of the species and sub- 

 species in systematic sequence, in the order of the A. O. U. Check-List^ 

 and following its nomenclature. An appendix gives a ' Field Color Key' 

 to the genera of the more common passerine birds, and is followed by a 

 very full index. The systematic portion of the book is furnished with 

 very freely illustrated keys to the higher groups, as well as the usual keys 

 to the genera and species. Mr. Fuertes's 36 full-page plates illustrate in 

 full-length figures leading types of the bird life of the region, and a large 

 number of additional heads, by the same author, and here first published, 

 contribute further to the attractiveness, as well as usefulness of the work. 

 Many new outlines of structural features are added from drawings by Miss 

 Franceska Weiser, while a large number of additional illustrations are 

 from the publications of the Biological Survey, 'The Auk,' ' Osprey,' and 

 the author's previous works. Besides all these, a large number of photo- 

 graphic illustrations from bird skins are introduced, often with excellent 

 effect, but, owing largely to the small scale of the reproduction, not infre- 

 quently they fail to be either very useful or attractive embellishments. 



Without going further into details, it may suflice to say that the author 

 is to be congratulated on having produced a very much needed Handbook 



