202 Recent Ornithological Publications. 



should imagine, quite inappreciable to any naturalist not belong- 

 ing to the family of Pastor Brehm ! 



Professor Schlegel's contribution to the little annual published 

 by the Society ' Natura Artis Magistra/ of Amsterdam, consists 

 this year of " Some words on the Black Cockatoos and the Para- 

 dise-birds," in which he gives a general review of the geogra- 

 phical distribution of these groups of birds. We may remark 

 that Professor Schlegel unites under one generic name in his 

 present notice the Paradisea and Epimachi. As to these birds 

 belonging to the same natural family, we think there can be little 

 doubt ; but we suppose that even Professor Schlegel would not 

 arrange them all under one generic name except in a popular 

 publication like the present. The habitats of the Paradise-birds, 

 as far as they are yet known, are stated with great precision. 



3. Scandinavian and Russian Publications. 



The second part of the second volume (new series) of the 

 ' Transactions ' of the Royal Swedish Academy (Kongliga Sven- 

 ska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar), published last year, 

 contains a valuable contribution to the ornithology of South 

 Africa, in the shape of some "Zoological Notes of the late 

 Johan Fredrik Victorin, compiled and arranged from his papers 

 by J. W. Grill," communicated to the Academy on the 16th 

 August, 1858. Victorin arrived at Cape-town in November 

 1853, where he continued collecting until the end of February 

 following, when he sailed to the eastward for Mossel Bay, and 

 thence proceeded by George-town to Knysna — his " land of 

 promise." There he remained until the next December, return- 

 ing by a circuitous route through the Karroo to Geoi'ge-town. 

 He finally left Cape-town in March 1855, having thus passed 

 sixteen months in the southern districts of the colony, during 

 which time he appears to have collected very diligently. The 

 fruits of his expedition seem to have been nearly all presented 

 to the Museum at Stockholm, and, we are informed, contained 

 517 examples of birds of 153 species, and the eggs of 11, all 

 stated to have been in first-rate condition. But far better than 

 these seem to have been the careful notes which he affixed to his 



