Recent Ornithological Publications. 79 



volume of the ' Transactions' of the Zoological Society of London, 

 which has been lately issued, contains an elaborate essay by 

 Mr. W. K. Parker, " On the Osteology of Balaniceps ?'ex." 

 There are three large plates given, which illustrate in complete 

 detail the osteological structure of this remarkable bird, and also 

 a coloured figure of " his majesty " in full plumage, taken from 

 Mr. Wolffs large water-colour drawing in the Society's portfolio. 

 Though unsuccessful, with all the care lavished upon them, in 

 preserving these birds alive, the Society have certainly done their 

 best to render them, " even in their death," useful to science and 

 to the advancement of knowledge. One of the skeletons, we 

 understand, has been placed in the British Museum, the other in 

 the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons. Mr. Parker's 

 final verdict is that the Boatbill is " essentially a Heron," and 

 most nearly related to Cancroma, " which might be placed sub- 

 generically to it," although it " seems as it were to have borrowed 

 characters from the Umbre (Scopus)." 



Those interested in the subject should also refer to Mr. Bart- 

 lett's remarks on the dermal system of the Balseniceps, given 

 in the Society's ^Proceedings' (1861, p. 131). 



2. French Publications. 



The 'Revue et Magasin de Zoologie' for the past year con- 

 tains but few papers relating to our branch of science. M. 

 Moquin-Tandon continues his " Considerations sur les oeufs des 

 Oiseaux;" and M. Hardy writes letters in criticism thereof to 

 M. 0. Des Murs. Dr. Pucheran writes some curious " Observa- 

 tions sur les ressemblances dans la forme du bee entre les Genres 

 des Passereaux d'une meme Faune, appartenant h des sections 

 differentes de cet Ordre d'Oiseaux." We do not understand that 

 this parallelism in the modification of a single organ, though cer- 

 tainly noteworthy, is likely to lead to any remarkable discovery. 



3. German Publications. 



Petermann's ' Geographische Mittheilungen ' for January of 

 the past year contains an important article from the pen of our 

 correspondent Theodor von Heuglin, which we have not yet 



