112 Recent Literatui'e. [April 



technical portions, the text is well written, and possesses the attraction of 

 being mostly new and original. The mechanical execution of the work 

 reminds us to say that "official" printing — paper, typography and binding 

 — -is generally so bad, that we wish we could instance the present case as 

 an exception to the rule, though it might easily be worse than it is. 



Dr. Wheaton is one of the pioneers in Ohioan ornithology, his publica- 

 tions upon the subject extending over a period of more than twenty years ; 

 and the Survey is certainly to be congratulated on the result of not intrust- 

 ing the report to other hands, as we believe was at one time contemplated. 

 — E. C. 



Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of the Birds of Ohio. — 

 We are always glad to record the continuation of this great work, the mer- 

 its of which we have already sufficiently indicated. The last number 

 which has reached us is a double one, being Parts 14 and 15, October 1882 

 and January 1883, published together about January i, raising the text to 

 p. 154, and the illustrations to pi. xlv. PI. xl. representing Icterus spiirius, 

 is very characteristic as well as artistic ; pi. xli, Petrockeh'don Itmifrons, with 

 the bird itself protruding from the nose of the bottle ; pi. xlii, Thryothorus 

 beivicki, very prettily executed, and probably the first representation of 

 the nest and eggs of this bird ever published ; pi. xliii, Astragalinus 

 tristis, in the crotch of a rank thistle ; pi. xliv, Melanerpes erythroceJ>kalus , 

 the wood sawn to show the shape of the excavation, with the eggs at the 

 bottom. Plate xlv introduces a new feature vyhich was sure to come be- 

 fore the end, in cases where no nest is constructed, or the nest is too 

 bulky to be represented, consisting of the eggs, three each, of Tringoides 

 inacularius, fig. i, ySgialites vocifertis, fig. 2, Asio accipitrinus, fig. 3, and 

 Corvus frugivorns, fig. 4. — E. C. 



Brown's Birds of Portland.* — -This excellent local list — desirably 

 supplementing those of Maine birds by Holmes, 1861 ; Verrill and Board- 

 man, 1862; Hitchcock, 1864; Hamlin, 1865; — is stated to be prepared 

 from notes systematically taken during the past twelve years, and to con- 

 tain the names of scarcely any species which have not passed under the 

 author's personal observation. Its reliability is therefoi-e evident. The 

 number of species given is 250, of which Passer domesticus and Cotiirnix 

 communis are artificial introductions. The annotations, though not exten- 

 sive, are to the point and seem judiciously adapted to convey a fair idea of 

 the part each species plays in the composition of the Avifauna. This is 

 really a more important matter than the mere enumeration of names, 

 however nearly complete ; for about half of the birds actually occurring 

 in a given locality stamp the facies of its bird-life more clearly and char- 

 acteristically than the other moiety of rare transients, irregular visitants, 

 and "accidents." We could wish that this matter had been brought out 



* A Catalogue of the Birds known to occur in the vicinity of Portland, Me. [etc.]. 

 By Nathan Clifford Brown. Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. Hist., Dec. 4, 1882. Also sepa- 

 rate, Portland, Bvo, pp. 37. 



