20 Sketch of North American Ornithology in 1879. (January, 
SKETCH OF NORTH AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY 
IN 1879. 
BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U.S.A. 
INCE the year 1858, memorable in our annals for the appear- 
ance of Baird’s great work, which gave such an impetus to 
the study of birds in this country, and in the light of whicha — 
generation of ornithologists has grown up, activity in this depart- 
ment has been incessant ; and the workers in this field have never 
been more numerous or more in earnest than during the year just 
_ passed—one which, though marked in no especial manner, has 
witnessed a steady advance in the extent and in the precision of 
our ornithological knowledge. 
Foremost among the signs of the times stands the Buletin of © 
the Nuttall Ornithological Club, the fourth volume of which 
closed with 1879. Originating in the necessity which the Club 
experienced to have a medium of communication with the pub- 
lic, and edited by Mr. Allen with conspicuous ability, this periodi- 
cal soon secured firm foothold, and its success became assured. 
The magazine, devoted entirely to the technic of a branch of 
science, is phenomenal in the fact, that so special a publication 
has paid for itself from the start, and already doubled its size. 
It is a trite saying, though generally an untrue one, that such and 
such a publication “fills a real want,” but this is actually the case — 
here. Nearly all the working ornithologists of America record 
the progress of their affairs in the “ Nuttall,” so that if one — 
wishes to know what has been found out since the appearance — 
of the last formal treatise on our birds, he turns to the Bulletin 
with confidence. In fine, it answers in America to the English | 
fois and the German Fournal fiir Ornithologie. It is, of course, 
impracticable to give here any analysis of its contents, and to — 
mention a few leading papers would be both invidious and unnec- 
essary. 
It may not be so generally known that there is published at — 
Utica, N. Y. by S. L. Willard, a bi-monthly periodical entitled — 
The Odlogist, devoted entirely to the nests, eggs and breeding — | 
habits of our birds. Beginning very modestly, Zhe Odlogist has — 
more than held its own; several volumes are completed, the size 
has been enlarged, and the conduct of the periodical has become 
so workmanlike that the claims of this serial to gan mer 
tion are just. 
In the same connection we should not fail to notice thé 
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