Recently published Ornithological Works. 87 



of their kind, and in tlie letterpress the short sketches of the 

 general distribution of each species seem to fulfil their pur- 

 pose. Some errors in the authorities for the specific names 

 are corrected in the table of contents on the wrapper. With 

 regard to the species which Lord Lilford terms, doubtless to 

 distinguish it from a congener, the Pied Rock-Thrush [Mon- 

 ticola saxatilis), we are somewhat surprised to be told that 

 " the recorded occurrence in England is in all probability 

 that of a bird escajjed from captivit^^^^ There is no hint of a 

 suspicion of this kind in the fourth edition of ' YarrelFs 

 British Birds ^ : the undoubted specimen, now in Mr, New- 

 comers collection, was obtained on the 19th May, 1843, at 

 the epoch of the vernal migration northwards ; the species 

 has occurred in Belgium and on Heligoland, and it breeds 

 as far north as the Hartz Mountains ; there is therefore no 

 inherent difficulty in assuming the genuineness of its visit to 

 our shores. If our esteemed President has any private sources 

 of information on this subject, we shall be glad to learn them. 



17. Milne-Edwards and Oustalet on the Birds of Grand 

 Comoro. 



[Observations sur la Faune de la grande Comoro. Par MM. A. 

 Milne-Edwards et E. Oustalet. Compt. Rend. Paris, ci. p. 218 (July 



1885).] 



The authors give an account of the collections of mammals 

 and hirds made by M. Humblot during several months^ resi- 

 dence in the island of Grand Comoro. The birds of which 

 specimens were obtained are referable to 35 species. Some 

 of these are of wide distribution, and some have been intro- 

 duced ; but the greater number of them may be regarded as 

 immigrants from adjacent lands, which are either unchanged 

 or have undergone slight modification, and have become what 

 M. Milne-Edwards has tei'med, in his ' Recherches sur la 

 Faune des Regions Australes,'' secondary or derived species. 

 These are shortly indicated as : — Coracopsis sibilans, Circus 

 humbloti, Leptosomus gracilis, Cinnyris humbluti, Zosterops 

 mouroniensis , Z. angasizce, Tardus comorensis, Graucalus cu- 

 cullatus, Or. sulphureus, Terpsiphone comorensis, Hypsipetes 



