32 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 6-No. 4. 



rows sang- nearly up to tlie 1st of Dec. but 

 it was not the song of spring-time. It was 

 weak and hoarse. — S. T. Holbrook. 



Recent Publications. 



Parts VII. and VIII. of Mr. Gentry's 

 work* have been published, according to 

 the author's announcement to issue one 

 number each month. We are afraid the 

 projector entertained a questionable policy 

 when he set aboiit giving his readers an 

 exhaustive treatise on the eggs and nests 

 of the birds of the United States in twenty- 

 five parts, with the liuiit of each part to be 

 the treatment aud illustration of two spe- 

 cies. It seems almost as if it were a will- 

 fully planned repetition of the lamented in- 

 completeness of so many of our good or- 

 nithological works. We certainly have 

 very little satisfaction in binding up the 

 parts when comjileted, and putting the vol- 

 ume on our shelves Avith the misleading 

 title on its back. There is, however, anoth- 

 er aspect of the work which we notice is, 

 under the circumstances, inexcusable. The 

 author has selected for his work the most 

 common and well known sjDecies that we 

 are too familiar with to desire to have pa- 

 raded before us so persistently. There 

 are sonie exceptions, we should gladly 

 overlook a few such, and were the work 

 complete we should expect them, to be 

 treated. But the limits to which the au- 

 thor confines himself, ought to suggest the 

 necessity of describing the nests aud eggs 

 of interesting and little known species, the 

 main reason for the existence of the work. 

 Doubtless the work was intended to be 

 popular, and perhaps the author meant 

 that it should be worth the money to those 

 who would appreciate the bright colored 

 pictures, and leani something from the 

 text, but as a contribution to the orni- 

 thological literature of to-day, it will 

 scarcely be recognized. 



The work is well gotten up, the tyjiog- 

 graphy and paper being excellent. The 



*Illustrati<>ns of the Xests and Eggs of Birds of the 

 United stutfs. By Thos. G. 'Gentry, l*hiht. 4to. 'l\< \w 

 completed in i.") monthly parts, each to contain two 

 plates, aud text, at $1.00 "per part. 



author often makes use of peculiar state 

 ments in the course of his text, and on the 

 whole it seems to us is somewhat monoto- 

 nous. He tells us that the Scarlet Tanager 

 is a species but little known but to natu- 

 ralists. The fact is, that it is well known 

 in a certain way, since it figures very prom- 

 inently in the ornamentation of the aver- 

 age parlor. Particular stress also seems 

 to be placed on the fact that the Barn 

 Swallow builds its nest under the eaves of 

 out-buildings. This may be true in cer- 

 tain localities, but we have seldom foimd 

 the nest on the outside of a building, it 

 has nearly always been placed up in the 

 apex of the roof, often half way down to- 

 ward the eaves, and occasionally on hori- 

 zontal beams. The casual reader would 

 easily mistake the bird for the Cliff Swal- 

 low, which never builds inside of an out- 

 building, Tinless in very rare instances. The 

 rejDresentations of the eggs are very good, 

 and do credit to the work, but there is 

 much room for improvement on the birds 

 just above mentioned. 



In part VIII. we note an improvement 

 in the plates. The nest and eggs of the 

 Valley Quail are better than the average, 

 and the plate of Golden-ci'ested Kinglets 

 and nests is very credital)le. The author 

 records our previous knowledge of the lat 

 ter species, and makes some interesting 

 notes on its breeding habits, but makes 

 his drawing of the nest from somewhat 

 uncertain date. After describing the nest 

 which was "placed about six feet from the 

 ground, in a mass of thick growth so pecu 

 liar to many of our fir trees," and "chiefly 

 composed of moss on the outside, with a 

 few fragments of chips," and "lined with 

 hair and feathers, the latter principally," 

 he states that although the birds tha,t 

 budt this nest "were not seen by Mr. Mer- 

 rill, yet by the pretty sure evidence of ex- 

 clusion, they cannot belong to any other 

 species than the one under consideration." 

 We are at a loss to determine the meaning 

 of "evidence of exclusion," in a connection 

 where we are most interested. 



