204 Recent Ornithulugical Publications. 



an expedition from Transbaikalia to the Amoor and back in 

 1855; and by Herr Maximowicz, a botanical collector in the 

 employ of the Imperial Botanical Gardens of St. Petersburg, who 

 was also travelling on the Amoor from 1854 to 1856. The whole 

 number of species thus embraced in the body of the work is 190. 

 At the end of the volume, however, before conclusions are drawn 

 as to the general character of the ornithology of this country, 

 extended lists are given of other species attributed to the same 

 locality by different authorities, and of such as might have 

 been expected to have been found there from their occurrence 

 in localities not far distant, so that every endeavour has been 

 made to render this volume a complete guide to the ornithology 

 of this part of the world. 



With the general conclusion drawn by Dr. v. Schrenck from 

 these elements, " that the prevailing character of the Avifauna 

 of Amoorland is Eui'opao- Siberian" or, as we should prefer call- 

 ing it, Pal^arctic, we fully agree ; but when we come to dis- 

 cuss the foreign elements which are certainly present, though to 

 a very limited degree, we must say a few words upon the method 

 which our author has followed in treating of his species. On 

 the difficult question where we are to draw the line between 

 " species " and " local varieties," we have on one side the views 

 of such naturalists as Mr. Wallace, who broadly state that it 

 matters not how small the difference is between two represent- 

 ative species provided it be constant, and on the other the prac- 

 tice of many eminent zoologists, who are accustomed to class 

 together a large number of species, usually considered as distinct, 

 as merely local or climatic varieties of one typical form. Between 

 these opposite views there is certainly ample room for every 

 shade of opinion. Every naturalist, indeed, has his own ideas 

 on this matter. The fact is, that the amount of difference 

 requisite to establish specific distinctness between two sets of 

 individuals is, as has been well maintained by an eminent writer, 

 whose views are adverse to the real existence of species, "a 

 matter of opinion," and we should therefore be very careful in 

 blaming writers whose ideas on this point may be at variance 

 with our own. But, nevertheless, this much is to be said upon 

 the subject, the truth of which we presume few will venture to 



