ilooft J^etDS anti 3^ei)tetos 



My Birds in Freedom and Captivity. 

 By the Rev. Hubert D. Astley. New 

 York: E. P. Dutton & Co. London: 

 J. M. Dent & Co. 1901. 8vo. xvi + 

 254; 22 full-page photogravures; 17 line 

 cuts. 



The author of this beautiful volume 

 writes from extended experience both in the 

 field and in the aviary. As a keeper of 

 caged birds he insists that the captive shall 

 be well housed, well fed and well watered, 

 and under these conditions he believes that, 

 as the bird cannot reason or "look back- 

 ward or forward in actual thought," it has 

 therefore neither regrets nor longings, and 

 with all its wants properly cared for is 

 presumably happy. Wild and untamable 

 birds, he adds, should never be caged. 

 Many of the birds treated have been studied 

 both in confinement and in nature, and it 

 is apparent that the intimate knowledge of 

 a bird's traits which may be derived from a 

 close study of captive individuals is of de- 

 cided assistance in studying the ways of the 

 same species in its haunts. Of special in- 

 terest to American readers is the account 

 of the breeding of a released pair of Car- 

 dinals. 



The illustrations in photogravure and 

 line are all by the author and are a very 

 decided addition to the text. Several in- 

 deed, particularly of the line cuts, we should 

 rank among bird drawings of the first class. 

 Both as author and illustrator, Mr. Astley 

 has therefore paid fitting tribute to feathered 

 friends in whose companionship he has evi- 

 dently found life-long pleasure. — F. M. C. 



The Birds of Massachusetts. By Regi- 

 nald Heber Howe, Jr., and Glover 

 Morrill Allen. Published by subscrip- 

 tion. Cambridge, Mass. 1901. 8vo. 

 154 pages. 



After devoting eight pages to an outline 

 of the faunal areas of Massachusetts, the 

 authors present annotated lists of (i) 362 

 species and subspecies as entitled to recog- 

 nition as Massachusetts birds, (2) four ex- 

 tirpated species, (3) two extinct species, (4) 



fifteen introduced species, (5) seventeen er- 

 roneously recorded species and (6) two hypo- 

 thetical species. The main list "gives the 

 status of each species, then the dates of 

 arrival and departure of species in Massa- 

 chusetts, followed by annotations taken from 

 already published local lists of importance, 

 and others supplied by trustworthy orni- 

 thologists from desirable localities, especially 

 along the coast." Evidently both care and 

 judgment have been duly exercised in bring- 

 ing together the information here presented, 

 the authors' conservatism in excluding spe- 

 cies of doubtful status as Massachusetts 

 birds being especially commendable, and 

 adding greatly to the value of their work. 

 It is unfortunate, however, that they evi- 

 dently did not avail themselves of the guid- 

 ance of some one whose wider experience 

 would have prevented them from rejecting 

 the only system of classification current in 

 this country. It was to establish and main- 

 tain a standard system of classification and 

 nomenclature that the ornithologists of this 

 country formed the American Ornithologists' 

 Union, and in failing to follow the classifi- 

 cation of the Union's Check-list, the authors 

 of 'The Birds of Massachusetts' have greatly 

 impaired the practical value of their work 

 and have shown an undesirable, because un- 

 warranted, spirit of independence. — F.M.C. 



Mr. Chupes and Miss Jenny. The Life 

 Story of Two Robins. By Effie Bignell. 

 New York. Baker and Taylor Co. 

 i6mo. xi+250 pages; 8 half-tones. 



The author of this volume may claim to 

 be a bird-lover in the best sense of the 

 word. Having rescued two Robins, one 

 from cats, the other from caged life, she 

 evidently devoted the greater part of her 

 time to their care. That they more than 

 repaid her, no one who reads this account 

 of their lives, with its many surprising illus- 

 trations of individuality and intelligence, 

 will doubt. The book is attractively writ- 

 ten, and its author's evident sympathy with 

 her subjects, and close observation of their 



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