:N'ov. 1887.] 



AOTD OOLOGIST. 



187 



theivish proclivities brand him with the mark 

 of Cain, and he now stands with every man's 

 hand against liim. Before sncli truths as are 

 presented in tlie lieport all sentiment should 

 subside and means of exterminating the little 

 pest should be duly considered and put into 

 action until he becomes either in due subjection 

 or entirely extinct, the latter phase being the 

 more safe in view of the amazing fecundity of 

 the species, which would make even a few a 

 dangerous experiment. 



Ridgway's Manual of North Ameri- 

 can Birds. 



It was due to the fact thatone of the editors of 

 this magazine was in the Northern Maine wilder- 

 ness previous to the issue of the October number, 

 that he was not afforded the time suffit;ient to 

 thoroughly examine the above work. Hoping 

 that in this issue some information can be 

 given, in due time attention would be called 

 again to the availability of the volume to the 

 working ornitliologist. 



The object of the " Manual " is nearly co- 

 incident with that of Coues^ Key to North 

 American Birds, so long the recognized author- 

 ity for identification, but it differs from the Key 

 at the outset by plainly stating that it is " a 

 convenient manual of North American Ornith- 

 ology reduced to the smallest compass, by the 

 omission of everything that is not absolutely 

 necessary for determining the character of any 

 given specimen." * * * * jj however re- 

 quires a book of equal proportions to the Key, 

 even if it lacks the useless, though pleasing 

 digressions in which the flowery pen of the 

 Doctor frequently indulges, and which makes 

 his otherwise technical work readable. 



The '■'■ Manual " follows the A. O. IT. Check 

 List of North American Birds in its method of 

 nomenclature and classification, but as several 

 new species have been described and added to 

 our Fauna, it lias necessitated the slight change 

 consequent upon their insertion in the proper 

 places. A peculiar and distinct feature of this 

 work is the inclusion of many extralimital 

 species. In order to secure them, the geograph- 

 ical limits, as set by the A. O. U. Check List, 

 has been overstepped in certain directions. 

 There is also given the European variety of 

 such of our North American species as can 

 boast of foreign congeners, and the Order 

 Tuhinares ha!i been included in its entirety, upon 

 the basis that such erratic wanderers may occur 

 upon any coast. 



The introduction to the " Manual " gives very 

 plainly its method of measurement, wliicii is in 

 English inches and hundredths, with few ex- 

 ceptions. Another excellent feature is the 

 measurements given of the eggs of the species 

 and coloration. These measurements, the au- 

 thor states, were the "average of six speci- 

 mens * * * which approximate the average 

 size and form." * * ♦ Probably some of 

 the most technical phrases used are those of the 

 names of colors, which are taken from the same 

 authors' Noitienclature of Colurs, and without 

 which a novice might be somewhat puzzled. It 

 is a pity some of the essential (luaiities of the 

 latter book were not given in the '• Maiund." 

 A brief key to the highei- groui)S precedes the 

 body of the text, which elaborates with an in- 

 troduction to each Order and Family, rendeiing 

 the i)lacing of any new species compartively 

 easy to a critical student. 



The individual diagnoses are excellent for 

 indentification, if used in close conjunction 

 with the "family" desci-iption, but taken alone, 

 honest conviction forces me to say they are in- 

 sufficient for that purpose. The typographical 

 execution seems somewhat odd until the stu- 

 dent reader becomes accustomed to reading 

 the description, before the name of the species. 

 Those not strictly of the North American fanna, 

 but which, as previously stated, are described 

 with equal minuteness, but being ty|)ographi- 

 cally distinct no confusion need arise. 



The appendix, which follows the body of the 

 work, contains the latest additions to the list, 

 and further developments regarding some re- 

 cent species mentioned in the volmne, and to 

 which proper refei'cnce is made. 



From this same source it is stated that four 

 new sub-genera and thirty-nine new species 

 and sub-species are described, and eight genera 

 and sub-genera are added, whii-h were not re- 

 cognized by tlie A. O. U. List, and thirty-one 

 new sjK'cies and sul)-si)ecies admitted as North 

 American, but not included in the A. O. U. List, 

 but out of the above ten were described since 

 the publication of the Check List. 



Fifteen names have been changed from the 

 A. O. U. liist, as follows : 



^. strelata yularis (Peale) to uE. sralaris 

 (Brewst). 



Somateria rnollissimd (I>inii. j to S. in. h<ircah's 

 (Brehm). 



Ardea rufa (Bodd) to A. rnfesceus (Gm). 



Subgn. Nyctherodius (Reich) to Nyctinassa 

 (Stejn). 



Subgn. Ehyucophiliis (Kaup.) to ILdodromas 

 (Kaup) . 



