Recently published Ornithological Works . 381 
46. Allen’s 1 Progress of Ornithology in the United States’ 
[Progress of Ornithology in the United States during the last century. 
By J. A. Allen. American Naturalist, vol. x. p. 536.] 
This essay of Mr. Allen's gives a succinct account of the 
rise and progress of the study of our science in the Uni¬ 
ted States from the days of Alexander Wilson (1808) to 
the present period, and is well worthy of the attention of all 
ornithologists. When Bonaparte, finished his continuation 
of Wilson's work in 1833, about 400 species of birds had been 
described as appertaining to the avifauna of the United States. 
ft At the present time the number of generally accepted species 
entitled to recognition as birds of that portion of North 
America north of Mexico is not less than six hundred and 
fifty, with, in addition, about one hundred and fifty commonly 
recognized subspecies, or about eight hundred recognized 
forms. 
“ The nests, eggs, and general habits of nearly all are now 
well known, particularly of those which occur east of the 
Bocky Mountains." 
“ Another phase of progress," Mr. Allen observes, “ that 
should not pass unnoticed in this connexion is the attention 
that has been paid to the geographical distribution of the 
species, with especial reference to the determination of the 
different faunal areas in North America, many of which are 
already known with a tolerable degree of definiteness, also the 
tendency to study the various subspecific and specific forms 
from a geographical and evolutionary standpoint. Formerly 
the study of our birds was pursued wholly analytically, and 
forms from distant, little-known localities which differed 
slightly from their near affines of neighbouring regions, were 
looked upon as distinct f species.' Later, as the material for 
a better knowledge of the subject accumulated, specimens of 
an intermediate character came to light, which, so long as 
they were few, were naturally looked upon as probably hybrids 
between the forms whose characters they seemed to combine. 
Still later, however, it was found that certain strains of devi¬ 
ation from pronounced types occurred in a large number of 
species belonging to widely different families inhabiting the 
