JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



ing of the Society during the future, 

 I pass on the reins into other hands. 

 W. L. POWERS. 



Boston. Dec. 15th, 1902. 

 Journal of the Maine Ornithological 



Society, Waterville, Me. 

 Gentlemen: 



Perhaps the following note may be 

 of interest to your readers, either as 

 a whole or in part: 



Messrs. Dana Estes & Co. announce 

 that the fifth revised edition of the 

 Key to North American Birds by Dr. 

 Elliott Coues, so long and patiently 

 awaited by the public, will be ready 

 in the spring of 1903. The reason for 

 the unusual delay in its publication, 

 may be briefly stated. When Dr. 

 Coues died in 1899 he left the manu- 

 script wholly finished, but the copy 

 was rendered hard to decipher without 

 the exercise of most intelligent care 

 by reason of innumerable interlinea- 

 tions, erasures, abbreviations, "riders," 

 and detached notes, written in a minu- 

 te and sometimes difficult handwrit- 

 ing. It was evident that had the Doc- 

 tor lived he would have cast his mater- 

 ial, although entirely completed as he 

 left it, into a form which would pre- 

 sent fewer difficulties to the composi- 

 tor. His sudden death left the copy in 

 such shape that the task of revision 

 and preparation for the press requir- 

 ed double the amount of work that had 

 been anticipated. The publishers, how- 

 ever, have had the good fortune to ob- 

 tain the services of a thoroughly 

 equipped ornithologist, who has read 

 the proof with the most painstaking 

 care, which has been ably supplement- 

 ed by the efforts of a number of pro- 

 fessional proof readers. The result is 

 a book which Dr. Coues would have 

 been proud to own as the crowning 

 work of his life. The publishers an- 

 nounce it as being absolutely authori- 

 tative and definitive, and express con- 



fidence that it is entirely free from er- 

 rors of statement or form. 



Some of the features which will 

 make the work more than ever indis- 

 pensable to ornthologists, profession- 

 al as well as amateur, may be briefly 

 summarized: 



1. The detailed, careful descriptions 

 of species — as in former Keys. 



2. The accounts, much fuller than 

 in former editions, of the breeding 

 habits of birds, dates, nests, and par- 

 ticularly the detailed description of 

 eggs with careful measurements of 

 same. 



3. The full collation in the text (not 

 in an appendix as in former editions) of 

 the nomenclature of species in the 

 Key, with the nomenclature and num- 

 eration of the American Ornitholo- 

 gists' Union Check List (of especial 

 help to students). 



4. The full synonymies and biblio- 

 graphical references in the case of 

 nearly all species — a new feature of 

 the Key, and invaluable to students 

 of all degrees of advancement. To the 

 preparation of this important feature 

 of the last edition of his Key, Dr. 

 Coues brought his rare gifts as biblio- 

 grapher and nomenclator. The amount 

 and painstaking character of this work 

 make it possible for the student to ex- 

 tend with ease his researches in the 

 case of a great many species. 



5. The professional discussion of 

 questions of classification and nomen- 

 clature by perhaps the most eminent 

 of modern ornithologists. 



6. The introductory (i. e. general) 

 descriptions of original family, and 



other groups, are much amplified over 

 those in preceding editions of the Key. 

 being of a broad scope, which make 

 plain the comparative relationships of 

 North American families, genera, and 

 species of birds, with extralimital 

 forms (Old World and neotropical): 

 This broad treatment makes of the 



