86 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. IV., No. 77. 



COUES'S KEY TO NORTH-AMERICAN 

 BIRDS. 



Key to North-American birds. Containing a concise 

 account of every species of living and fossil bird at 

 present known, from the continent north of the Mexi- 

 can and United-States boundary, inclusive of Green- 

 land. By Elliott Coues. 2d ed. Boston, 

 Estes 8f Lauriat, 1884. 30+863 p., 561 fig. 8°. 



The original edition of the ' Key,' published 

 in 1872, consisting of three hundred and sixty- 

 one imperial octavo pages and two hundred 

 and thirty-eight woodcuts, is well known to 

 all students of American birds. The present 

 edition is not only ' entirely rewritten,' but 

 contains nearly four times as much matter, and 

 more than twice as many illustrations, as the 

 first ; yet in bulk the work is scarcely larger, 

 being printed on thinner paper and in smaller 

 type. While most of the old illustrations have 

 been retained, many have been replaced by 

 better ones, nearly one-half are added from 

 the author's previous works and other published 

 sources, while some fifty or more have been 

 engraved expressly for this edition. While the 

 old ' Key ' has proved eminently useful, it was 

 not without its defects, owing mainly to extreme 

 conciseness of treatment. The present ' Key ' 

 is modelled on the plan of the old, and written 

 in the same spirit, but is the same mainly in 

 title. 



The work opens with an ' historical preface,' 

 occupying some sixteen pages, in which is 

 felicitously sketched the history of North- 

 American ornithology from its earliest begin- 

 ning nearly to the date of the first edition 

 of the ' Key.' The history is divided into 

 ' epochs ' and ' periods ; ' and the influence 

 various writers have had upon the progress of 

 the subject is judiciously weighed, and thrown 

 into strong relief. Then follows the preface 

 proper, in which the author explains the differ- 

 ences between the present edition and the 

 earlier one, and makes his acknowledgments 

 of aid, in the preparation of the work, received 

 from various persons and sources. 



The work proper is divided into four ' parts.' 

 Part i. (pp. 1-58) is entitled l Field ornithol- 

 ogy,' and forms a manual of instruction for 

 collecting, preparing, and preserving birds. 

 This is a nearly verbatim reprint of a separate 

 work having this title, published by the author 

 in 1874, and already well known as a work of 

 great practical usefulness to collectors. Part 

 ii., ' General ornithology,' is devoted to an 

 elementary exposition of the structure and 

 classification of birds, and occupies pp. 59- 

 236. It (1) defines birds as distinguished 

 from other vertebrates, (2) discusses the prin- 



ciples of classification and their application, 

 (3) gives definitions and descriptions of the 

 exterior parts of birds, and (4) devotes nearly 

 one hundred pages to the anatomy of birds, 

 giving a general outline of the subject. Part 

 ii. is very fully illustrated with well-chosen 

 figures. The portion of the text devoted to 

 the anatomy of birds is entirely new, and 

 suffices to give very fairly the rudiments of 

 the subject, which is all the author attempts. 

 Many of the figures are drawn from nature by 

 Dr. Shufeldt expressly for the work : others 

 are after Parker, Huxle3 T , and other well-known 

 authorities. This part closes with artificial 

 keys to the orders, sub-orders, and families. 

 The attempt made in the old ' Key ' to carry 

 the student at once to the genera is here aban- 

 doned. 



Part iii. (pp. 237-820), devoted to a ' Sys- 

 tematic S3'nopsis of North- American birds,' 

 forms, of course, the main body of the work. It 

 describes all the species and sub-species, and 

 defines the genera and higher groups of North- 

 American birds. The descriptions are much 

 amplified from those given in the first edition, 

 but with the idea still in view of sharp defini- 

 tion. The references to authorities previously 

 given are omitted, perhaps not unwisely ; and 

 in their place we find an epitome of the life- 

 history of the species, with special reference 

 to their nesting-habits, song, flight, and migra- 

 tions. These display at its best the author's 

 happy knack of hitting in few words a bird's 

 leading and characteristic traits. More space 

 is also given to an. account of the geographical 

 distribution of the various species and races, 

 and the plumages of female and immature 

 birds are more fully and much more satisfacto- 

 rily indicated. An artificial key to the genera 

 is given under each sub-family, and the species 

 are analyzed under the genera. The matter 

 given under each species is apparently about 

 four to six times greater than in the old ' Key,' 

 and is sufficient to give in satisfactor}^ detail, 

 not only its technical characters, but a glimpse 

 at the role it plays in life. The number of 

 species and sub-species treated is eight hun- 

 dred and ninety-nine, which are placed under 

 three hundred and forty-nine genera. The 

 technical names are marked for accent, and 

 they are also etymologically defined. 



Partiv. (pp. 821-830) is devoted to a ' Sys- 

 tematic synopsis of the fossil birds of North 

 America,' numbering forty-six species. Of 

 these, twenty-five are tertiary (sixteen being 

 referred to living genera) , twentj T cretaceous, 

 and one Jurassic. This part, the author tells 

 us, has been revised by Professor Marsh. 



