Taverner's 'birds of Eastern Canada'

Recent Literature.LOct."multitude" of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrating together Across the sky while the Rose-breasted Grosbeak whose "rose stain" was entirely lost in the autumn had more likely never yet acquired it.--W.S. Taverner's 'Birds of Eastern Canada.'•--Asecond edition of this wluable work is before us, which presents a v•ery creditable appearance with its excellently printed letter press and attractive plates from color 'sketches by/tennessey.It will prove of inestimable wlue in providing those interested in the avifauna of eastern Canada, with just the information they desire and should be instrumental in developing many young bird-lover into an ornithologist.We have fully reviewed the first edition so that the generMly excellent character and scope of the work is already familiar to our re•ders.From a purely technical standpoint we fM1 to grasp the author's obicct in granting distinctive headings to certain genera, while others are lumped together, as for instance "Genus Thryothorus" and "Genus Thryomanes" but "Genera Cistothorus and Telmatodyles."If he does not regard the last two as separable, why does he not live up to his convictions and unite them instead of adopting this misleading and inconsistent practice?English names for gcner• are also rather unfortunate and can prove of little use: i.e. "Ground Warblers for a group includi•ng the Chat; "Grosbeaks" for the Rose-breast but "Blue Grosbeaks" for Guiraca; and "Yellow-bellied Flycatchers" for all the Empidonaces.It is dif•cult also to see why some of these names should be singular and others plural.Errors in the systematic index still place almost all the Sparrows in the genus Acanthis; the P•rula and Worm-e•ting W•rblers in Vermivora, etc. Thes• are purely technical points, however, and will not detract from the gre•t usefulness of Mr. Taverner's book.It seems to us, however, t.hat in a popular work some definite and generally accepted scheme of arrangement should be rigidly adhered to; such publications are hardly the place for exploiting original schemes.We notice incidentally that Linnodromus is consistently mispelled.--W.S. Swarth on 'Birds and Mammals of the Stikine River Region.This important contribution covering Mr. Sw•rth's explorations in British Columbia and Alaska, May to September 1919, has been prepared with the care and thoroughness that characterize all of his public'ations.The collection made by the author and his associate Mr. Joseph Dixon, comprised 534 ma•nmals and 638 birds as well as other material, including • Birds of Eastern Canada (Second Edition).By P. A. Taverner.Memoir 104, No. 3, Biological Series.Dept. of Mus.Geol.Survey, Canada.Ottawa, 1922, pp.i-iv•-l-290 with 50 colored plates (included in pagination).• Bir •ds and Mammals of the stikine River Region of Northern British Columbia and South-eastern Alaska.

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