240 
Recent Literature. 
records,” an assistance which was a practical guarantee against any 
very gross errors. 
To say that the book is exceedingly well-written would be doing it scant 
justice. Dr. Coues’s brilliant talents in this respect are already well known, 
but we have perhaps never had so striking a proof of them as is afforded 
by the present volume. The work has been done so thoroughly that in 
point of completeness it is almost perfect ; so consistently that but few points 
are open to criticism ; so concisely that one hundred and thirty-eight 
species are treated in two hundred and seventy octavo pages. And the 
arrangement of the whole is masterly. Gracefully turned descriptive 
passages and sparkling bits of commentary everywhere enliven the sub- 
structure of fact, as the brighter colors of an old piece of tapestry set off 
its more sombre background. Those who are familiar with such Avorks 
as the “Birds of the North-west” and “ Birds of the Colorado Valley ” 
will have no difficulty in judging for themselves to what extent the editor 
acted on the author’s permission “ in revising, and to some extent re- 
writing” the latter’s notes for publication. 
There is, however, one feature which we cannot approve, and which will 
doubtless be regretted by all who are familiar with the history of the case 
on which it bears. We allude to the numerous comments on the records 
left by a late well-known ornithologist. The strictures themselves are 
in many, perhaps most, cases just, but they are characterized by a certain 
bitterness of tone which implies a lack of respect for the memory of an 
opponent who is no longer able to speak in his own defence. 
It remains to make some reference to the ostensible author of the 
work. Simply, then, Mr. Stearns may be congratulated on his wise 
choice of an editor. — W. B. 
Cory’s Beautiful and Curious Birds. — Part III of Mr. Cory’s 
work* treats of Menura superb a, the well known Australian Lyre Bird; 
Diftkyllodes resp 7 iblica , a peculiar Bird of Paradise found on Batarra and 
the Waigiou Islands in the Malay Archipelago; and the Ruff ( Machetes 
ftugnax ) . The latter is of interest to American ornithologists as an occa- 
sional straggler from Europe, where, as in Asia and Africa, it is widely 
distributed and generally known, and is especially noteworthy for its 
pugnacious disposition and remarkable plumage. 
The plates in the present number fully sustain the high degree of 
excellence which characterized those of the earlier ones. That of the 
Lyre Bird is notably fine ; the coloring is rich and soft, while the wonder- 
ful details of the lyre-shaped tail are executed with great clearness and 
delicacy. The iridescent hues of the Bird of Paradise are also well man- 
aged. The work is well worthy of the patronage of those who may 
desire excellent life-size figures of a series of exceptionally remarkable 
forms of bird-life, with the accompaniment of appropriate text. — J. A. A. 
* See this Bulletin, Vol. V, p. 236 and Vol. VI, p. hi. 
