THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 1897: 
A DICTIONARY OF BIRDS. 
A Dictionary of Birds. By Alfred Newton, assisted 
by Hans Gadow, with contributions from Richard 
Lydekker, B:A., F.R.S., Charles S. Roy, M.A., F.R.S., 
and Robert W. Shufeldt, M.D., late United States 
Army. Pp. viii + 124 + 1088. (London: Adam and 
Charles Black, 1893-1896.) 
vibes publication of the fourth and concluding part | 
of Prof. Newton’s “Dictionary of Birds” places 
ornithologists in possession of a very useful and concise 
volume in which is to be found a vast amount of varied 
information concerning recent and fossil birds, and other 
matter of wider scope bearing upon variation and 
kindred subjects. 
Many of the articles have already appeared in the 
ninth edition of the “ Encyclopedia Britannica,” which 
was commenced in 1875 and finished in 1888. These in 
the present volume have been collected together, corrected 
and expanded to date, and to them have been added a 
number of additional articles, arbitrarily selected, so the 
author tells us, but with the main object of supplying 
useful information on subjects concerning which inquiries 
are often made but not easily answered. 
The articles relating to anatomical subjects are from 
the pen of Dr. Gadow, and we fully endorse Prof. 
Newton’s appreciation of them. They give in a concise 
form a mass of information on these matters, and will 
doubtless prove of great value to future workers, not only 
from their intrinsic merit, but also for the many refer- 
ences to more extended works on the same subjects. 
Mr. Lydekker contributes valuable articles on Fossil 
birds, which give the most recent account of the progress 
of this profoundly interesting subject. Ornithologists, as 
a rule, have not neglected to study the morphology of 
their subject from ancient as well as recent and existing 
forms, and in urging the necessity of pursuing this course 
Prof. Newton takes the opportunity, in a footnote (p. 288), 
of giving an extract from a speech of Huxley’s, which it 
may not be out of place to repeat. ‘ Palzeontology,” he 
said, “is simply the biology of the past; and a fossil 
animal differs only in this regard from a stuffed one, that 
one has been dead longer than the other, for ages instead 
of for days.” 
Prof. Roy’s article on Flight sums up the recent 
theories on the subject, and Dr. Shufeldt’s contributions 
on certain North American forms, concludes the list of 
matter additional to Prof. Newton’s own work, which 
constitutes the great bulk of the volume, and throngs its 
pages with very various subjects relating to birds, which 
have been to him a ‘life-long study from every point 
of view. 
The book is a bulky one (it contains upwards of 1200 
pages), yet one cannot help noticing that the exigencies 
of space must always have been present to the author, 
obliging him, as he himself declares, to compress his 
information into the smallest possible compass. That 
Prof. Newton should succeed in this difficult task no ; authority. 
NO. £431, VOL. 55 | 
NA a U. hE 505 
one who knows his accurate and concise methods would 
doubt, and that he has succeeded must be admitted by 
every one. 
The general arrangement of the articles is, of course, 
an alphabetical one, but cross references are freely given, 
which greatly assist in finding information placed under 
different headings. An initial note must not be lost 
sight of to the effect that where a word is introduced in 
small capitals, without apparent necessity, further in- 
formation concerning it may be sought for under that 
word in its alphabetical place. The index at the end will 
also greatly help in finding the subjects ; the introduction 
having an index of names of its own. 
Should any article seem to fal short of supplying the 
most recent information concerning the subject treated 
of, as is the case in the account of the Birds of Paradise, 
where no mention is made of the marvellous forms 
recently brought to light, it must be remembered that it 
has taken several years to produce the four parts in which 
the work was issued, and that the sheets were passed for 
press from the year 1889 onwards. 
It is not possible in this short notice to give detailed 
notes on any of the many valuable articles which 
abound all through the pages of the book, but interest 
will no doubt mainly centre on the introduction, which 
formed article “Ornithology” in the “ Encyclopzedia Bri- 
tannica” (published in 1885). This has already been 
noticed in this journal (NATURE, vol. xxxiil. p. 121), but we 
may say concerning it that the subject has been since then 
modified in some respects, and enlarged to bring it up to 
date. As it stands it is the most comprehensive review 
of the subject of ornithology extant, and in it will be 
found a concise summary.on most of the important 
works on ornithology from the earliest times. These 
are freely criticised, sometimes with favour, sometimes 
with disfavour, but always, except as some will think in 
respect to a few recent works, in a judicial spirit. 
In this introduction the complex subject of classifica- 
tion is fully treated of, and the various suggested schemes 
analysed. Prof. Newton, though confirmed in his doubts 
whether a really valid systematic arrangement of birds 
has yet been put forth, has hopes that that object may 
ultimately be attained. We confess that we are not so 
sanguine, believing that from the nature of the evidence, 
most of which must long ago have been irretrievably lost, 
the arguments in favour of many relationships must 
always be hypothetical, and the resulting classification 
always liable to modification. Still this impression of 
ours must not be taken to indicate want of interest on 
our part in morphological studies in ornithology, for we 
certainly believe that persistent attempts to elaborate 
more perfect systems of classification will increase rather 
than diminish interest in the subject. And this, after all, 
is of more value than the attainment of any goal. 
Prof. Newton tells us in his preface that to his regret 
he was obliged to omit noticing several interesting subjects 
bearing upon ornithology, as well as many names of birds 
beyond those included. He holds opt a prospect that 
these additions may be supplied at some future time. 
We add our hope that his wishes may be fulfilled, and 
that they may be taken in hand by the same competent 
ORS. 
Z 
