( 817 ) 

 NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 



An Illustrated Manual of British Birds. By Howard Saunders, 

 F.L.S., F.Z.S. To be completed in about twenty parts. 

 Parts I. — IV. 8vo. London : Gurney & Jackson, Pater- 

 noster Eow. 1888. 



An illustrated work on British Birds in one volume has long 

 been a desideratum ; the only book of the kind, John's ' British 

 Birds in their Haunts,' with illustrations by Wolf, altbough 

 frequently reprinted, being quite out of date as regards the text. 

 Tbe appearance therefore of this new work by Mr. Saunders 

 cannot fail to .give satisfaction to every one interested in the 

 study of birds. Four parts have already appeared, each con- 

 taining twenty woodcuts, with two pages of text to each species , 

 and costing only one shilling a part, a marvellously cheap 

 publication. 



The illustrations being identical with those in Yarrell's 

 ' British Birds,' plus some new additions, it might be supposed 

 that the new work is an abridgment in one volume of the old 

 one ; but, as will be seen by comparison, this is not the case. 

 Each chapter has been entirely rewritten, and several species 

 have been introduced which have found their way into the British 

 list since the issue of the fourth edition of 'Yarrell' was com- 

 menced some seventeen years ago. 



The study of Ornithology, like everything else, is, of course, 

 progressive, and we suppose therefore that it was inevitable that 

 changes should be made in the classification adopted in this new 

 volume by Mr. Saunders. We cannot help thinking, however, 

 that it would have been better for many reasons if the classi- 

 fication adopted in the fourth edition of ' Yarrell ' had been still 

 adhered to. The question of classification having been so fully 

 considered by Prof. Newton, and by Mr. Saunders himself, in the 

 latest edition of ' Yarrell,' it seems rather soon to depart from 

 the conclusions there arrived at, and to propound a new scheme. 

 Nor can we see the advantage of transposing the Orders in the 

 manner proposed. We are, of course, aware that it has become 

 the fashion to place the Order Passeres at the head of the list, 

 because, as Mr. Saunders states, " authorities in Europe and 

 America are fairly agreed that the highest avian development is 

 attained in that order." But this must always be more or less a 



