282 Wood's British Song- Birds. 



work on general ornithology ;" " On the establishment of a new 

 magazine of natural history;" Habits of the Ivy wren (Anorthura trog- 

 lodytes, Morris/') being an extract from a work of the author's then 

 in the press ; and some observations " on the English nomenclature 

 of birds." 



British Song-Birds, being popular Descriptions and Anecdotes o) 

 the Choristers of the Groves. By Neville Wood, Esq. 12mo. 

 Pp. 408. London, W. Parker, 1836. 



In most of the works entitled " Song" or " Singing-Birds," many 

 species are introduced, which to our ideas have no business there, but 

 Ave have no right to quarrel with the tastes of the authors, although 

 we cannot perceive the title of the buntings, or common sparrow, or 

 stone-chat, or wheatear, to be called " choristers of the groves." 

 The present volume contains descriptions of seventy-three species, 

 and will be useful to those who possess no work of greater extent. 

 We discover nothing new in it, but there are some pretty descrip- 

 tions, and one or two interesting anecdotes. One favourite chorister we 

 miss, not certainly of the grove ; but if those of the brake and barren 

 waste are admitted, so may he of our mountain torrents. Mr Wood 

 can never have heard the plaintive melody of the water-ouzel (Cin- 

 clus aquaticus.) To the nomenclature we decidedly object; it 

 is often inappropriate, and many of the names may be at once 

 thrown out by using l!he very rules which our author advocates. 

 We dislike also repetition of the remarks against compilers, and the 

 frequent and sometimes not very gently couched observations upon 

 the works of a living author. 



Collection de Perroquets, pour fair e suite a la publication de Levail- 

 lanl, conlenant les especes laissees par cet auteur, ou recemvient 

 decouvertes, destine a completer une monographic Jiguree de la 

 famille des Psiltacides. Par le Dr A. Bourjat Saint Hilare. 

 Fol. et 4to. 



A work with the above title is about to be commenced as a sup- 

 plement or continuation of Levaillant. The figures will be lithogra- 

 phic, and are drawn by M. Werner. It will be published in monthly 

 livraisons of four plates each, size, folio and quarto, to correspond with 

 the different editions of Levaillant's work. The price twelve and fif- 

 teen francs. From 100 to 150 plates are proposed to be given, but 

 if each is devoted to a species, and the sexes are given where the 

 difference is great, that number will not suffice to represent the ad- 

 ditional species known at the present time. 



