IN EUROPE — PRUSSIA. 
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birds. The Acta Naturm Curiosorum speak for themselves, 
as do the writings of the various professors of Bonn, and those 
of the celebrated Prince Maximilian of Wied, from whom we 
have, besides the descriptions of two most interesting species 
of Rodentia, two new species of North American birds, Zono- 
trichia comata, Wied, in the FringillincB, and Gymnorhinus 
cyanocephaliis in the Garrulince, the last of which forms 
a distinct genus, to which I feel bound to propose the name 
of Cyanocephalus as generic, the name given by the author 
having been previously occupied. 
Gloger has lately added to his many zoological works, an 
European Ornithology, deserving of high praise, of which we 
are expecting to receive the concluding volume. This author 
pushes, to an undue extent, the mania for restricting species, 
a useful but often dangerous tendency, and not unfrequently 
fallacious, an instance of which is furnished, among others, 
by the triumph of our countryman, Savi, respecting the 
Sorex etruscus, in which it were desirable that he had exer- 
cised more moderation. Directly opposed to Gloger, is the 
well known Brehm, who continues to multiply species ad in- 
finitum, and not content with those wliicli he has already 
created, he re-examines them daily, to extract from their 
ranks one or more new ones, a practice as you know already 
sufficiently exposed. The reader, however, who neglects to 
study this work, will deprive himself of many philosophical 
views, which indeed are not always able to emerge from the 
reality of facts without the aid of fancy. Whoever may have 
an opportunity of visiting Brehm, in his house, will admire a 
vast collection of birds, living and dead, in skeletons, models, 
and drawings. We might well say, that no one has studied 
the habits of birds more than Brehm, were it not for the 
Naumanns, which family for three generations has occuj)ied 
itself with this curious and useful branch of natural history. 
So warm is their zeal, that they have constrained Nature, 
in order to procure and render familiar the winged tribes ; one 
spot they have clothed with forests, another they have converted 
into a marsh; they have turned aside rivulets, and reared 
plantations of various foreign trees ; not to mention the new 
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