instances a much better idea of the species than badly executed plates would do under similar circumstances. The nomenclature of the Canadian birds of prey adopted by Mr. Vennor is principally that employed by Mr. Ridgway in the great work on 'North-American Birds'; but in certain instances we cannot agree with him, as, for example, when he classes the Greenland Falcon (Falco candicans) and the Labrador Falcon (Falco Labradorus) under the head of one species, which he calls Falco sacer of Forster. The information given under Swainson's Buzzard will be largely supplemented by future observations; for although Mr. Vennor appears to have been under the impression that the species was hardly distinct, there is really not the smallest doubt as to its being a very well-marked species, and representing in the northern part of the New World the well-known Common Buzzard of Europe. Again, Mr. Vennor follows Mr. Ridgway in treating the South-American Harrier (Circus cinereus) as a mere "variety" of C. Hudsonius; but we must remark, en passant, that if such well-marked birds are not to be considered as true and distinct species then all the other Harriers of the world may as well be united under one heading. He duly notes the rarity of blue-plumaged Harriers as compared with the brown-plumaged individuals, and it is possibly the rarity of the former that has prevented him from giving more than a figure of a female or young bird.
In conclusion, we may remark that no one can study this book without finding that it adds greatly to our knowledge of Canadian Ornithology, and we observe with pleasure the very careful notes on the habits and distribution of the species. In every instance, also, the soft parts of the birds are given—a feature omitted in the work on 'North-American Birds' above alluded to.
This little volume, as may be gathered from its title, is written perhaps rather for lovers of sport than for lovers of Natural History, but to both the book will be welcome. Every page bears upon it
