243 Recent Ornithological Publications. 



cite line autre capture faite dans le Jutland, en 1861." Now 

 the several mistakes in the above extract, which our readers will 

 know how to correct for themselves, are also made precisely in 

 the same manner by Dr. de Montessus in the ' Revue de Zoologie ' 

 (1863, p. 403). The author last named certainly commits an 

 additional geographical blunder (speaking of Jutland as a " con- 

 tree de Groenland"), which M. Gerbe avoids; but it^is very 

 singular that the latter should have otherwise so carefully fallen 

 into the same mistakes as his predecessor if he had personally 

 consulted the original notices; and we are accordingly afraid M. 

 Gerbe has not done ' The Ibis ' the honour of personally con- 

 sulting its pages. 



We have selected this instance of M. Gerbe's neglect of the 

 ordinary channels of information partly because of its bearing 

 on this journal ; and it would be extremely easy to cite a large 

 number of similar cases ; but by so doing we should probably 

 give a very unfair impression of his labours, in praise of which 

 much is to be said. Indeed to do justice to the work, a com- 

 mentary by a competent writer, such as that on Dr. Jerdon's 

 ' Birds of India ' with which Mr. Blyth has enriched our pages, 

 would be required. But we regret to say that we have no hope of 

 being able to lay such a commentary before our readers, and we 

 must content ourselves by expressing a wish that the next 

 writer on European ornithology may not blindly follow M. Gerbe's 

 statements under the idea that he has exhausted all existing 

 sources of information on the subject. 



We have great pleasure in stating that M. Alphonse Milne- 

 Edwards has commenced the publication of his researches on 

 the Fossil Birds of France, of which we lately spoke (Ibis, 

 1866, p. 413), and we are indebted to his kindness for the 

 valuable gift of the three parts which have already appeared*. 

 These contain seven sheets of letterpress and fifteen litho- 

 graphic plates very beautifully executed. It is perhaps too 

 early to speak of the general principles of the work ; but we have 



* Reclierclies anatomiques et paleontologiques pour servir a I'histoire 

 des Oiseaux Fossiles de la France. Par Alphonse Mllne-Edwaeds. 

 Livraisons 1-3. Paris : 1867. 4to. 



