The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-09-09
The Birds OF Maine.



There las just been published from the
University OF Maine one of the most i'm
portrait contributions to the literature of
the natural history of this State that has
ever been made. This is saying good
deal, when one calls to mind what has
been done by special workers in different
fields IN the past and remembers the pub
LEGATIONS Of our previous natural history
surveys, the treatise Of the late DR.. Eek
iel Holmes on the lchthyology of Maine;
of Dr.. A. c. Hamlin of Bangor on our
Maine tourmalines; the writings of DR..
George Ii. Stone on the moran system of
the State; Dl T. Lamson Scrbner' writ
ings on our grasses and plants: Dr..
Charles II. Fernald' S work on the butter
flies and other insects of Maine: and of DR..
n. S. Shaler and George Otis Smith, Phi.
D., on the geology of the Maine coast and
the old volcanic formations of the State.
1t is work on 1.-The Birds of Name
showing their distribution by counties,
and their present rarity or commences
in each county, from the pen Of Prof. Ora
W. Knight, Il. S. To give brief sum
mary of the contents of this important
publication. we may say that it embraces
a list of birds resident in Maine which ex-
tends to $40 species; a list Of introduced
species, or those which have never natur-
ally occurred in Maine, but which have
been known to breed here after their lib
Grafton, comprising the domestic pigeon
and English sparrow, and what Mr..
Knight calls Hypothetical list" or a
list OF such species as probably occur in
Maine, but " whose occurrence has not been
proved by the actual capture OF specimens
within our limits-a list embracing n
r., I,,;.,
the range of information given in this
work, it may be added that it comprises
most interesting introduction; q transcript
of the laws Of Maine which relate special
ly to ornithology OF zoology; chapter on
Faunal Areas; list of birds of the Cana
dian fauna; and photography Of works
and publications relating to the ornithol-
ogy of Maine. The work closes with an
index of "A pages.
Mr. Knight gives list of $50 species as
positively occurring within the limits of
Maine. OF these he has introduced among
those having permanent habitat here, 26
species, two OF which have been introduce
ed and have become naturaliZed. The
summer residents number ia; while the
| winter residents and winter visitors of
+, fairly regular occurrence include 80 spec
| les. The accidental or casual visitants
and stragglers include IS species, while
the remaining two species formerly oc
CURED within the State borders, but are
now extinct here. AS to faunal lines, Nj.
Knight places all that region of the State
eastward of the Penobscot river, together
with that north of line which would
separate the northern portions Of andre
scoggin, kennebec and Oxford counties
from the rest of the State, to be Canadian
in character; while the other portions of
the State are Alleghanian. Added to his
descriptions of the species, MI. Knight
gives interesting notes of the individuals,
mainly from his own observation; and
numberless original records from obsev
ers in each county regarding the presence
of the species in their own locality
| whether rare, common, or otherwise. In
| the photography, which extends to near
| ly 80 titles, we note but single omission
| or mportance-that of the valuable con
| tribution of DR.. E. Holmes on the ''Birds
of Maine Injurious to Agriculture, pub
lished in the patent office report on agr-
culture, Washington, D. CD in 1857,
with % plates-the first important contri-
button to our economic ornithology.