302 Recent Ornithological Publications. 



had better be regarded, — that they should bring together the 

 material which is still necessary to enable them to come to a 

 final judgment upon about ten still uncertain forms, — and that 

 they should subject any exotic immigrants to be added to the 

 fauna to a strict criticism. 



On these points it appears to me that a concordant judgment 

 may be arrived at. 



XXXI. — Recent OrnitJwluyical Publications^. 



1. English Publications. 



Sir John Uichardson's volume on the Polar Regions f con- 

 tains a notice of the birds met with in Spitzbergen (p. 210), and 

 a short chapter devoted to the Zoology of the Arctic Circle ge- 

 nerally. " Excluding merely the points where the woods cross 

 the Arctic Circle," says the author, p. 278, " the polar region 

 presents a uniformity in its native birds in all meridians. All 

 the birds that frequent the high latitudes are natives, and, 

 though their stay at the breeding-places does not exceed three 

 months, they are to be considered as merely visitors in the 

 southern regions, which they traverse in going and coming du- 

 ring the remaining nine months of the year." This, we believe, 

 is pretty nearly true, as far as it goes ; but a really good and 

 succinct account of Arctic Zoology is still a desideratum, and 

 would form a very acceptable addition to our knowledge of geo- 

 graphical distribution. 



We do not propose here to enter into the general merits of 

 Mr. Du Chaillu^s account of his travels in Equatorial AfricaJ. 

 That his work has produced much hostile criticism our readers 

 are well aware. But no ornithologist, who is acquainted with 

 the progress of his favourite science during the past few years, 



* Want of space has compelled us to defer the notice of several works 

 until the next Number. — Ed. 



■\ The Polar Regions. By Sir John Richardson. Edinburgh, 1861, 

 1 vol. 8vo. 



X Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa. By Paul B. Du 

 Chaillu. London, 1861. 



