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Handbook of Birds of Eastern North 

 America. With Introductory Chapters 

 on the Study of Birds in Nature. By 

 Frank M. Chapman. With full-page 

 plates in colors and black and white by 

 Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and text-cuts by 

 Tappan Adney and Ernest Thompson 

 Seton. Revised Edition. New York 

 and London: D. Appleton & Co., 1912; 

 XXX -f- 530 pp.; i2mo, 24 plates, i map, 

 I color chart, 136 text-cuts. 



Nearly a score of years ago, the needs 

 o^ the amateur bird student were recog- 

 nized and met by the publication of the 

 first edition of the 'Handbook.' It set a 

 standard that is not only maintained in 

 the new edition before us, but one that 

 is now raised to an even higher plane, the 

 best of the old features being retained 

 and many new ones added, without 

 materially increasing the size of so handy 

 a volume. It is thoroughly up to date, 

 being virtually rewritten and improved 

 with new subject matter and new plates, 

 and is, in fact, a veritable granary of 

 ornithological information, concisely ar- 

 ranged by an author who, from personal 

 experience, is thoroughly familiar with 

 his subject, and possessed of remarkable 

 skill in separating the superfluous dross 

 from the fine gold. The beginner is 

 pleasantly led from subject to subject, 

 the advanced student will find much to 

 occupy his close attention, and even the 

 haughty expert, on turning the pages, 

 may learn a great deal that he did not 

 know before. 



Viewed at close range, the 'Handbook' 

 is made up of two component parts: (i) 

 an 'Introduction' which of itself would 

 constitute a book of essays, and (2) 'The 

 ■ Birds of North America east of the Nine- 

 teenth Meridian,' a part of which contains 

 concise descriptions of plumages, nests 

 and eggs, measurements and ranges, 

 migration and nesting dates, and brief 

 bits of life histories. 



The brevity of Part II is made possible 

 by the comprehensiveness of Part I, which 

 presents "at least a suggestive biographv 



(I 



of the bird," or rather, so deals with 

 topics germane to every bird that, so far 

 as the individual species are concerned, 

 much may be taken for granted. 



Comparing the new edition with the 

 old, we like the old style of type better 

 than the new, but, aside from this minor 

 consideration, the new surpasses the old 

 in every way. There is an increase of 

 pages from 421 to 530, of plates from 20 

 to 24, of illustrations from 115 to 136, 

 and a large expansion of the introductory 

 matter. Among the well-chosen plates 

 are some of Mr. L. A. Fuertes's best and, 

 as a splendid study of owls in black and 

 white, Plate XVIII is certainly unsurpassed. 

 The Biological Survey's colored zone map 

 of North America is a most useful addition, 

 and even the rule marked with both 

 inches and millimeters is an improvement 

 on the first edition. Many bibliographic 

 references to species have been grouped 

 at the ends of the chapters of the intro- 

 ductory part, or under the species or 

 group to which they refer, and the volume 

 concludes with a convenient bibliography 

 in which the titles of Standard 'local lists' 

 are arranged under states. 



The 'Introduction,' prefaced by a 

 'Historical Review' and 'Plan of the Work' 

 deserves the thoughtful consideration of 

 ever}' reader. It is divided into the follow- 

 ing chapters and sections: 



Chapter I. — Why we should study birds. 

 Chapter II. — A word to the beginner. 



Finding and naming birds. 



The equipment of the field-student. 



Collecting birds, their nests and eggs. 



American ornithological societies. 



Current ornithological magazines. 

 Chapter III. — The study of birds in 

 nature. 



The distribution of birds. 



The migration of birds. 



The voice of birds. 



The nesting season. 



The plumage of birds. 



The food of birds. 



General activities of the adult bird. 



72) 



