32 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
[Vol. 6-No. 4. 
rows sang nearly np to the 1st of Dee. but 
it was not the song of spring-time. It was 
weak and hoarse.— S. T. Holbrook. 
- 
Recent Publications. 
Parts VII. and VIII. of Mr. Gentry’s 
work* have been published, according to 
the author's announcement to issue one 
number each month. We are afraid the 
projector entertained a ipiestionable policy 
when he set about giving his readers an 
exhaustive treatise on the eggs and nests 
of the birds of the United States in twenty- 
five parts, with the limit of each jmrt to be 
the treatment and illustration of two spe¬ 
cies. It seems almost as if it were a will¬ 
fully planned repetition of the lamented in- 
comi)leteness of so many of our good or¬ 
nithological works. We certainly have 
very little satisfaction in binding up the 
parts when completed, and 2 )utting the vol¬ 
ume on our shelves with the misleading 
title on its back. There is, however, anoth¬ 
er aspect of the work which we notice is, 
under the circumstances, inexcusable. The 
author has selected for his work the most 
common and well known sjiecies that we 
are too familiar with to de.^ire to have pa¬ 
raded before i;s so 2 )ersistently. There 
are some exceptions, we should gladly 
overlook a few such, and were the work 
com 2 )lete we should expect them to be 
treated. But the limits to which the au 
thor con hues himself, ought to suggest the 
necessity of describing the nests and eggs 
of interesting and little known species, the 
main reason for the existence of the work. 
Doubtless the work was intended to be 
j)opular, and 2 >t*i'Iia 2 )s the author meant 
that it should be worth the money to those 
who would ap 2 )reciate the bright colored 
])ictures. and learn something from the 
text, but as a contribution to the orni¬ 
thological literature of to-day. it will 
scarcely be recognized. 
The work is well gotten uj). the tyi)og- 
grajhiy and pai)er being excellent. The 
•llluHtriitlon.H of the Sowts ami of Minis of tiu- 
L'liltnl My Tlio.s. (i. (ioiilrv. I’hlla. Mo. To lie 
|■ollll>K■ll•(l In •>.•> 'montlily parts, racli to coiilaln two 
plaU-s, ami ti-\t, at #l.tHl 'per part. 
author often makes use of jiectiliar state 
ments in the course of his text, and on the 
whole it seems to us is somewhat monoto¬ 
nous. He tells us that the Scarlet Tanager 
is a siiecies but little known but to natiu 
rtilists. The fact is, that it is well known 
in a certain way, since it figures very jirom- 
inently in the ornamentation of the aver¬ 
age parlor. Particular stress also seems 
to be ])laced on the fact that the Barn 
Swallow builds its nest under the eaves of 
out-buildings. This may be true in cer¬ 
tain localities, but we have seldom found 
the nest on the outside of a building, it 
has nearly always been ])laced uj) in the 
a^iex of the roof, often half way down to¬ 
ward the eaves, and occasionally on hori¬ 
zontal beams. The casual reader wofild 
easily mistake the bird for the Cliff Swal¬ 
low, which never builds inside of an out¬ 
building, unless in very rare instances. The 
representations of the eggs are very good, 
and do credit to the work, but there is 
much room for imiirovement on the birds 
just above mentioned. 
In part VIII. we note an imi)rovement 
in the jilates. The nest and eggs of the 
Valley Quail are better than the average, 
and the jilate of Golden-crested Kinglets 
and nests is very creditable. The author 
recfuds our jirevious knowledge of the lat 
ter sj^ecies, and makes some interesting 
notes on its breeding habits, but makes 
his drawing of the nest from somewhat 
uncertain date. After describing the nest 
which was -ijlaced about six feet from the 
ground, in a mass of thick growth so |)ecu 
liar to many of our lir trees," and “chieffy 
comi)osed of moss on the outside, with a 
few fragments of chijis." and “lined with 
hair and feathers, the latter ])rincii)ally," 
he states that although the birds that 
built this nest “were not seen by Mr. Mer¬ 
rill, yet by the pretty sure evidence of ex¬ 
clusion. tliey cannot belong to any other 
species than the one under consideration.” 
We are at a loss to determine the meaning 
of “evidence of exclusion." in a connection 
where we are most interested. 
1 
