9 APRIL 1898, Page 24

American ornithologist and the author of an excellent work on

the North American shore-birds, to which the present volume is by no means inferior. He writes with great knowledge and accuracy, yet without making the book too technical ; it is, in fact, "a book ' written both for those who love to seek these birds afield with dog and gun, as well as those who may only desire to learn the ways of such attractive creatures in their haunts." There are no pheasants in the Western Hemisphere, and the subject-matter of the book includes, therefore, partridges, quails, grouse, ptarmigan, and wild turkeys. There are accounts of the habits and geographical distribution, and a full description of the plumage of both sexes, and in some cases of the young birds also. The illustrations of each species by Mr. Edwin Sheppard are minutely accurate, but somewhat lifeless. In the appendix there is a scientific key to the families, genera, and species, and an ingenious " colour-chart " to assist readers to identify the various colours mentioned in the book.