Abstract
THIS useful work contains a short diagnostic account of the whole of the vertebrated animals of the Northern United States, and has been written, as the author tells us, to give collectors and students who are not specialists a ready means of identifying the families, genera, and species described. The mammals as well as the birds of North America have been so ably and elaborately treated of by Prof. Baird, Dr. Coues, and others, that those who are studying these branches of zoology will not find this smaller volume of special service, nevertheless we are not acquainted with any work having a range of treatment which includes the reptilia, amphibia, and fishes with the two other classes. The sub-kingdom, as well as each class and order, are concisely defined, and the most modern arrangement is adopted, based upon the best authorities, the relative importance of the characterising features being clearly brought forward. The system of employing artificial keys so useful in botanical determinations, and so successfully employed by Dr. Coues in ornithology, is employed throughout the book, and will, no doubt, be found to work well. A glossary of the principal technical terms used in the body of the book is also appended. As an example of the manner in which the different species are described, we will take that of one ot the species of Fly-catchers: “Empidonax acadicus (Gm.), Baird. SMALL GREEN-CRESTED FLY-CATCHER.—Clear olive-green; wing bands buffy; whitish becoming yellowish below; yellowish ring about eyes; bill pale below; primaries nearly an inch longer than secondaries; second, third, and fourth primaries nearly equal, and much longer than first and fifth; first much longer than sixth; L. 6; W. 3; T. 2¾; T5. ; Tcl. ½; E.U.S. frequent.” To naturalists on this side the Atlantic the work will be found a valuable one of reference on account of its inclu-siveness, and a glance through it makes us feel how useful a similar one on the British vertebrate fauna would prove to students and collectors.
Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States.
David S.
Jordan
By (Chicago: Jansen, McClurg, and Co., 1876.)
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Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States . Nature 15, 216 (1877). https://doi.org/10.1038/015216a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/015216a0