5 
EIE teak) apa O 
; 
4 
3 
$ 
y 
; 
1876.] Progress of Ornithology in the United States. 541 
manner in which it was treated, render this work by far the 
most complete and important, in a scientific point of view, that 
had at that time appeared relating to North American ornithol- 
ogy, or, in fact, to any similar area anywhere. It is, however, a 
strictly technical treatment of the subject. The special reports 
on the ornithology of the different routes explored, contained in 
_ other volumes of this series of reports, supplemented this general 
work with much biographical matter, in connection with which 
appeared thirty-eight finely executed colored plates of species de- 
scribed in the general and special reports, but previously unfig- 
ured by American authors. This was followed in 1859 by Pro- 
fessor Baird’s report on the Birds of the United States and Mexi- 
can Boundary Survey, with twenty-five admirable plates of 
previously unfigured species. In 1870, the text of the General 
eport was re-issued, with some additional matter, under the 
title of Birds of North America, with an accompanying vol- 
ume of one hundred plates, including those above-mentioned as 
accompanying the special reports of the Pacific Railroad and 
Mexican Boundary Surveys. 
In 1864 Professor Baird began the publication of his Review 
of American Birds (Part I. North and Middle America, Smith- 
sonian Miscellaneous Publications, No. 181). Installments of the 
Work were published at intervals during the next two years, 
the last signature bearing the date of “June 9, 1866.” The 
Work, so far as published, forms an octavo volume of 450 pages, 
taking the Oscines as far as the genus Collurio. The very 
thorough character of this much-needed work renders it a source 
of sincere vegret that its busy author has not found time to carry 
it forward to completion. 
In 1869 appeared D. G. Elliot’s work (two volumes in one, 
folio, New York), entitled New and Unfigured Species of the 
Birds of North America, containing sixty-four colored plates, 
and short critical notices of one hundred and fourteen species. 
This was followed in 1870 by Cooper's Birds of California, edited 
rofessor Baird “from the manuscript and notes or. d. G- 
Soper.” We have as yet of this important work only the first 
ohm ? (forming volume i. of the Zoölogical Reports of the Ge- 
“logical Survey of California, Professor J. D. Whitney, director), 
embracing the land-birds. This is a quarto of six hundred pages 
with life-size colored figures of the heads of each species and 
smal] full-length figures of some species of each genus, inserted 
‘M the text. This method of illustration was novel and advan- 
