64 



histories, for, although these are three or four 

 times as full and accurate as those of any preced- 

 ing author, yet it is evident — as Muclie himself 

 informs us — that he has limited himself in many 

 of his accounts. This is the more to be lamented, 

 as the author's original design, of compressing the 

 whole into one pocket volume, was entirely frus- 

 trated. We hope that in the second edition, which 

 is shortly* to appear, the biographies will be greatly 

 enlarged. Mudie is the most accurate observer of 

 Nature, who has yet written on British Ornithology 

 — Selby excepted, and lie treats not exclusively of 

 habits — and consequently the Feathered Tribes 

 deserves a distinguished place on the shelf of the 

 philosophic Ornithologist. In order to give our 

 readers some idea of the plan and spirit of this in- 

 valuable production, we shall extract, almost at 

 random, the whole account of some one species, 

 from the Feathered Tribes, from the British Zoology 

 of Pennant, who was hitherto considered a popular 

 writer, and from Levvin, of the same species, in 

 order that our readers may compare the description 

 of Mudie with those of the other authors. It may 

 be supposed that we have extracted a description 

 in Mudie's best manner, but this is by no means 

 the case. We think more highly of the accounts 

 of the Green Woodpecker (Picus viridisj, the 

 LongtailedTit (Pants caudatusj, the Golden Eagle 

 (Aquila aurea, TV ill.)? Wood Lark (Alauda arbo- 

 reaj, some of the Buntings (Emberiza), &c. &c, 

 but our choice was made, as before stated, almost 

 at random. We shall commence with the account 

 of Pennant, next proceed to that of Levvin, and, 

 lastly, to that of Mudie, and, if the reader fails to 

 experience some of the enthusiasm of our author, 

 on perusing the latter account, he is little fitted 

 to become a field Naturalist : — ■ 



* In January, 1836. 



