THE ORNITHOLOGICAL GUIDE. 1-13 



Ornithnlogia, or the Birds : a Poem in two parts, with an introduction 

 to their Natural History, and copious notes; By James Jennings. 

 2nd edition, 1829. 



This book would have been far more appropriately 

 named, as the author intimates, a " Metrical Cata- 

 logued A great part of the " Poetry" is occupied 

 in describing an assembly of birds, in accordance 

 with the orders of " the Aquiline monarch and Yul- 

 turid King," and is a parcel of stuff and nonsense 

 from beginning to end. The absurdity of the idea, 

 is only equalled by the wretchedness of the execu- 

 tion, and thus the only means by which we might 

 have become reconciled to the ludicrousness of the 

 plot is wanting, and as if to aggravate the matter still 

 more, the page is stuck all over with notes, which 

 are as empty and inharmonious as the song which 

 they accompany. These would have been much 

 better in a sort of introduction or appendix, but best 

 of all, omitted altogether. We should not have 

 dealt thus severely with this no doubt well-meant 

 work, had it not been for the conceit, and self-suffi- 

 ciency manifested by the author in his prefatory 

 remarks, which would certainly raise the expectation 

 to a higher pitch than the result would warrant. 

 Two or three of the afterpieces however, as the 

 " Oriole's Song," and " On disturbing a Hedge 

 Dunnoc from her nest," are very tolerable. The 

 " Pleasures of Ornithology" at the conclusion, is 

 little but a display of the author's ingenuity in 

 stringing together the barbarous mongrel names 



