230 THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [i, 5, sept. 1905 



How to Know the Wild Birds. Special editions for Minnesota, 

 Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, New England 

 and the Northwest By D. Lange. Boston, Educational 

 Pub. Co. 1905. 25c. each. 



These booklets are designated to fill a long-felt want for brief 

 introductions to birds in limited localities, especially for school 

 use. No previous knowledge of birds is needed by the user of 

 these books. The key is exceedingly simple, as follows: Land 

 birds — (i) woodpeckers and other climbers, (2) other birds 

 marked with red, (3) birds marked with yellow or orange, (4) 

 birds marked with blue, (5) birds marked with reddish brown, 

 (6) birds of the air, (7) birds chiefly colored black or black and 

 white, (8) birds chiefly dull colored, (9) birds chiefly colored 

 slate or grey, (10) birds colored brown or streaked, (11) quail, 

 prairie chickens, and grouse, (12) eagles, hawks, and owls. 

 Water and Shore Birds — (i) large waders, (2) smaller waders 

 and shore birds, (3) coots, grebes, gallinules, and loons, (4) 

 terns, gulls, and cormorants, (5) ducks and geese. The com- 

 mon species under these headings are described briefly and 

 simply. Of course a booklet cannot be expected to be satisfac- 

 tory in the case of birds difficult to identify, but these need not 

 concern the beginner. 



An introduction gives some good suggestions regarding iden- 

 tifying birds, " do not collect birds or eggs," care of injured 

 birds, and nesting boxes and protection of birds. In some of the 

 editions supplementary chapters deal with (i) birds of the 

 world's literature — English robin redbreast, skylark, English 

 blackbird, cuckoo, nightingale, white stork, and raven, (2) some 

 common birds of Europe and their American relatives, and (3) 

 scientific classification of the birds named in the book. 



A comparison of the books, for Ohio, Indiana and Illinois re- 

 sults, as might be expected, in the discovery that the few birds 

 credited to one state and not to the other are usually rare and 

 irregular. Perhaps a dozen foot-notes would have made it pos- 

 sible to unite the volumes for Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and 

 probably others. 



Half Hours with Lower Animals. By C. F. Holder. New 

 York, American Book Co. 1905. Pp. 236, 250 ill. 60 

 cents. 

 In this, the latest addition to the series of the Eclectic School 



