184 Recent Ornithological Publications. 



Dr. Brewer (p. 305) gives a nominal catalogue of the Birds 

 of Cuba^ compiled from two lists furnished to him by Dr. John 

 Gundlach of Havanna. He enumerates 25 1 species. Dr. Brewer 

 also communicates (p. 308) a paper by Mr. F. Germain of San- 

 tiago, entitled " Notes upon the Mode and Place of Nidification 

 of some of the Birds of Chili." Mr. Germain's notes relate to 

 69 species, the eggs of which were all collected by himself, and 

 his specimens may therefore be depended upon as authentic. 

 We should very much like to have further information con- 

 cerning the nidification of Pteroptochus albicollis and of the 

 other species of the same group found in Chili. It would be 

 interesting to know whether they confirm the uumistakeable 

 relationship which exists between these birds and Menura. The 

 same volume contains also two notices by Dr. Henry Bryant 

 (pp. 349, 367) on the nidification of some species of Sea-birds. 



Two other contributions of Dr. H. Bryant to the same Journal 

 have reached us only in the form of separate copies, for which 

 we have to thank Professor Baird. Dr. Bryant's " Remarks on 

 the Variation of Plumage of Buteo borealis and B. harlani" are 

 of great importance, and we give an extract from his paper 

 which clearly shows the conclusion he has arrived at : — 



" On carefully examining a large series of specimens, princi- 

 pally in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution at Wash- 

 ington, and of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, 

 I find that all of them, belonging to harlani ?, insignatus, sivain- 

 sonii, bairdii, oxypterus, borealis, montanus, calurus, and perhaps 

 cooperi, can be easily reduced to two very distinct groiips, each 

 of which is distinguishable by definite external characters, and 

 in which the variations of plumage, though apparently so great 

 if the extremes only are taken into consideration, can, it seems 

 to me, be arranged in a series, in which the connexion of the 

 different members may be readily traced. Of these two groups, 

 or rather species, one, which should be called B. borealis, as the 

 first-described, consists of that species, montanus, calurus, har- 

 lani ?, and probably cooperi, and is characterized by a very mus- 

 cular body, stronger and larger bill, longer and more powerful 

 tarsi, and a more rounded wing, the fourth quill generally the 



