COUES, BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND. 253 



All. — J. A. Allen; Catalogue of the Birds of Springfielcl, Mass., with 

 a list of Birds found in Massachusetts not observed at Springtleld. 

 Proceedings of the Essex Institute, vol. iv, p. 48. 1864. 



Ham. — Prof. C. E. Hamlin; Catalogue of the Birds found in the 

 vicinity of Waterville, Kennebec Co., Me. Eeprinted from the 

 Report of the Secretary of the Maine Board of Agriculture for 1865. 



McIl. — T. Mcllwraith; List of Birds observed near Hamilton, Canada 

 West. Proceedings of the Essex Histitute, v, p. 79. 1866. 



Lawu. — G. N. Lawrence ; Catalogue of Birds observed on New York, 

 Long and Staten Islands, and adjacent parts of New Jersey. Annals 

 of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, vol. viii. 1866. 



B. S. N. H. — Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 

 8vo. Boston, 1841, et seq. jmssim. Various papers and notes on 

 New England Birds, by Drs. Abbot, Brewer, Bryant, Cabot, 

 Kneeland, and others. Especially vols, ii, pp. 36, 248: iii, pp. 136, 

 313, 326, 333, 335; iv, p. 346; v, pp. 154, 195; vi, pp. 386, 419, etc. 



In addition to the preceding, numerous references to 

 Birds of New England are to be found in Nuttall's 

 Manual of Ornithology ; in the Biographies of Audubon ; 

 in Brewer's North American Oology ; in the Birds of 

 North America by Baird, Cassin, and Lawrence ; and in 

 Baird's Eeview of American Birds. 



VULTUEID^. 



Cathart.es aura lUig. — Turkey Vulture. Turkey Buz- 

 zard. Rare or occasional summer visitant, chiefly in more 

 southern portions. (Calais, Me., Ferr., p. 122; one in- 

 stance. — Mass., two instances, Sam., p. 3; All., p. 81. 

 — Regular summer visitant near Chatham, and along the 

 shores of Lake St. Clair. McIl., p. 80. — Omitted from 

 8am. 0.0.) 



so very small a per ceiitage of the New England birds. The original portions of 

 the text are not better, nor njuch worse than the average of ornithological writings 

 as regards style, accuracy, and completeness. Bnt the great blemish of the work is 

 the omission of thirty or forty species properly to be enumerated as Birds of New 

 England. We can find no excuse for such carelessness as this. We cannot attrib- 

 ute it to Mr. Samuels' want of knowledge in the matter; for surely he cannot be 

 ignorant-of Mr. Putnam's, Mr. Boardman's, Prof. Verrill's, Mr. Allen's, and others' 

 local lists, —noi to mention his own "Descriptive List," in wliich several species 

 are given that do not appear in his latter work, — either of which would i)ut him in 

 possession of much additional matter for his work. It is not to the point that many, 

 or most, of the species he omits are rare, occasional, or accidental visitors in Xew 

 England. Such a work as his professes to be should at least make mention of 

 eveiy bird that has actually been found in New England " and adjoining States 

 and provinces." 



In the present list — perhaps more needed since, than before the appearance 

 of Mr. Samuels' Avork — we notice Mr. Samuel's omissions in detail ; and the reader 

 is left to judge for himself, in each instance, what sort of authority we have for in- 

 cluding those species that we condemn Mr. Samuels for omitting. We quote Mr. 

 Samuels' later work as "Sam. O. O." to distinguish it from his Descriptive List, re- 

 ferred to by the abbreviation " Sam." 



