476 • Recently published Ornithological Works. 



new Genera, and a Monograph of the American Species of the Genus 

 Anlea, Linn. (Bull. Hayden's Survey, iv. No. 1, Feb. 5, 1878.)] 



These " Studies " of Mr. Ridgway's bear evidence of having 

 been carefully considered, and a praiseworthy attempt is made 

 to give charactei-s defining the sections and subsections into 

 which the order Herodiones is divisible. Except as regards 

 the American forms of the order, ]\Ir. Ridgway's materials do 

 not seem to be so complete as could be wished ; for the impor- 

 tant Old- World genera Scopus, Anastomus, Balceniceps, and 

 others, the author says, are autoptically imknown to him. 



Mr. Ridgway must, we think, reconsider his assignment 

 of Eurypyga to the Herodiones ; its points of relationship to 

 the E,alli and divergence from the Herodiones are so many, 

 that its position near the Eails, so forcibly maintained by 

 many authors, seems most worthy of adoption. 



The Ardeidse, or true Herons, are devided into Ardeinse 

 and Botaurinse : the former containing fourteen genera, of 

 which three are new ; the latter two genera. These new 

 genera are Dichromanassa, with Ardea rufa as its type, Hy- 

 dranassa (no type indicated), and Syrigma, type Ardea sibi- 

 latrix. The characters of all these genera are drawn chiefly 

 from the form of the ornamental plumes of the adult birds. 



In his monograph of the genus Ardea four American species 

 are dealt with. Mr. Ridgway^s remarks on Ardea occiden- 

 talis, and its suggested identity with A. wiirdemanni, will be 

 read with great interest. Those who look forward to the 

 synonymy of the future with perplexity will not be much 

 encouraged by the array of references Mr. Ridgway produces 

 under the heading Ardea herodias. We can only hope that 

 such displays as this will soon produce a reaction in favour 

 of selecting such references as are really useful, and the avoid- 

 ance of obvious repetition^. 



In treating of the American Ciconiidae Mr. Ridgway finds 

 it necessary to propose a new generic name, Euxenura, for 

 Ciconia maguari, on account of the peculiarities of the rectrices 



* All through this paper>s'e notice that to a certain * Catalogus Avium ' 

 is assigned an important place in the synonymy, too important, we 

 tliink, when the mode of compilation of this work is considered. 



