414 Recent Ornithological Publications. 



hand, of twenty-three birds of the quaternary period determined 

 by him, only one, a Crane of large stature, has become entirely 

 extinct. A very interesting fact, however, has been established ; 

 this is, that associated with bones of the Keindeer in the French 

 caverns are those of the Willow-Grouse [Lagopus albus) and the 

 Snowy Owl {Nyctea nivea), two species not known in France 

 within historic times, and, as our readers are aware, now belong- 

 ing to a far more northern fauna. Their presence in these de- 

 posits is an additional proof, if one were wanted, of the complete 

 change wrought by the glacial epoch. It remains to be said 

 that the results of M. A. Milne-Edwards are chiefly based on the 

 characters aflforded by the metatarsal bone — not that he considers 

 this bone to possess greater significance than the sternum or the 

 cranium (for he joins M. Blanchard in declaring that every bird's 

 bone offers peculiarities sufficient for determining, not only the 

 group and the genus, but even the species to which it belongs), 

 but because sterna and crania are rarely met with in fossiliferous 

 beds, while metatarsi with other long bones are abundantly pre- 

 served. 



We are not, may be, so rich as our continental neighbours in 

 ornitholites, but we hope the admirable researches we have just 

 noticed may induce some of our palaeontologists to turn their 

 attention to this important, though neglected, and consequently 

 imperfect, branch of the Geological Eecord. 



3. Italian. 



In the 'Ibis' for 1864 (p. 399) was noticed the journey to 

 Persia of Prof, de Filippi and some of its results. Last year 

 he published a full account of the expedition"^, consisting of a 

 diplomatic embassy sent by the Italian Government, to which 

 was very laudably attached certain men of science ; and his work 

 is a very welcome one, for hitherto our knowledge of Persian 

 ornithology has been extremely limited. Besides numerous iso- 

 lated facts relating to our science, a complete list of all the 

 species, 167 in number, observed between the Caucasus and 

 Teheran is given (pp. 344-352) ; five of these were described by 



* Note di un Viaggio in Persia nel 1862 di F. de Filippi. Milauo : 

 1865. 8vo, pp. 396. 



