^oofe jBtetos; anti 3^ebtetD0 



The Bird Book. By Fannie Hardy Eck- 

 STORM, Boston, U. S. A., D. C. Heath 

 & Co., 1901. i2mo. Pages xii + 276. 

 Ills. 56. Price, 60 cents. 



We believe that the author of this book 

 has accomplished the far from easy task of 

 making a desirable addition to the litera- 

 ture of popular general ornithology. While 

 she appears to be thoroughly familiar with 

 what has previously been written and has 

 often made use of it, her treatment of her 

 theme is distinctly original. In other words, 

 her book is not a compilation along well- 

 worn paths, but an independent expression 

 of opinion. 



The book is designed for the primar}' 

 teacher, and the author's estimate of the 

 educational value of bird study shows in a 

 few words such a comprehensive grasp of 

 its potentialities that we are tempted to 

 quote it. She says: "If we adopt bird- 

 study as the representation of zoological 

 science, as we seem likely to do, it must 

 be not only because it is fairly illustrative 

 of zoological principles, and because its 

 materials are abundant and easily referred 

 to, but because it is pleasurable to begin- 

 ners. 



"Bird-study, or any other special science, 

 is justified in demanding an educational 

 hearing if it contribute generously either to 

 a knowledge of the principles and methods 

 of science in general or to the training of 

 the powers of observation." (Preface.) 



The subject matter is somewhat unusual 

 for a first book of birds' and seems to us 

 to be better for young ornithologists than 

 for young people whose interest in birds 

 should be fed on simpler, more palatable 

 food. The first 57 pages are devoted to 

 water birds, few of which come within the 

 range of a child's observation, with the 

 object, it is said, of giving the student 

 "some notion of the breadth of the sub- 

 ject." Part III, 43 pages, on ' Problems of 

 Bird-Life,' is excellent, but, as before said, 

 seems more suitable for ornithologists than 



for beginners, such subjects as ' Zoogeogra- 

 phy,' 'Subspecies,' etc., being somewhat 

 advanced for the student who perhaps does 

 not know a dozen birds. Part II, ' Struc- 

 ture and Comparison,' and Part IV, 'Some 

 Common Land-Birds,' are admirable; an 

 Appendix has sections on the zoogeograph- 

 ical divisions of the world, with a map 

 of the chief divisions in North America, 

 'Hints on Observing Birds,' 'Hints on 

 Identifying Strange Live Birds,' 'Certain 

 Questions Answered ' (e. g.. Shall a school 

 own mounted birds? Is there any substi- 

 tute for collections ? ) , and ' Lists of Books. ' 



The author's well-known experience as 

 a practical ornithologist gives its due value 

 to her work and ensures accuracy of state- 

 ment. We note, however, one or two slips. 

 Pigeons, for instance, are not the only 

 birds that drink without removing the bill, 

 Sand Grouse resembling them in this re- 

 spect; nor is the eastern " Bronzed 

 Grackle," a subspecies of the western bird; 

 the Grackle of New England, except in the 

 southern part, being the same as that of 

 the Mississippi valley. 



The pen and ink full-page drawings of 

 birds are good only when the artist is in- 

 debted to Seton-Thompson or J. L. Ridg- 

 way, an indebtedness, however, which is not 

 acknowledged. 



Fortunately the value of the book does 

 not depend on its illustrations, and we take 

 pleasure in commending it most heartily to 

 all bird students. — F. M. C. 



Birds of Western New York. By Elon 

 Howard Eaton. Proc. Rochester Acad. 

 Sci., IV, pp. 1-64, Feb., 1901. 



This excellent paper contains brief sec- 

 tions on the faunal areas of western New 

 York, a Bibliography, ' Migration and Res- 

 idence' tables, an annotated list of the 297 

 species known to occur, and a ' Hypothet- 

 ical List ' of species which may occur. 



The ' Migration and Residence ' table 

 graphically presents in a clear, simple and 



(75) 



