Recent Ornithological Publications. 315 



very extensive. But, judging from a comparison of specimens, 

 the Javan, the Cingalese, and the race inhabiting north-western 

 India are severally distinct. And whether we regard them 

 merely as varieties, or refuse to rank them as separate species, 

 it would be inaccurate to assert that a form identical with 

 P. cinereus, from Java, also inhabits Tibet. 



With these remarks I will now close this somewhat hasty 

 sketch of the results of Dr. Stoliczka^s researches, with a hope 

 that it will not be long before he will find himself able to pub- 

 lish further observations on the ornithology of the Himalaya 

 mountains, and the regions they separate from north-western 

 India. 



XX. — Notices of Recent Ornithological Publications. 

 1. English. 

 Our anticipations with regard to Mr. Sharpe's work*, the first 

 part of which we noticed some six months ago (Ibis, 1868, 

 pp. 472, 473), have been more than realized by the two parts 

 which have since appeared. The author is unsparing of his 

 labour ; and the draughtsman, of whose skill our present number 

 will enable the reader to judge, is very successful in his voca- 

 tion. Each part contains six plates, representing as many species 

 of the group, with accompanying letterpress, wherein is em- 

 bodied all that seems to be known respecting the birds. One of 

 the species which requires especial notice is Cittura sanghirensis, 

 first described by the author in the Zoological Proceedings for 

 1868 (p. 271), and no doubt sufficiently distinct from C. cyanotis, 

 a very rare bird in collections, and apparently limited in its 

 range to the northern part of the island of Celebes, while the 

 allied form seems to be confined to the much smaller and more 

 distant island of Sanghir, whence its name. We must congra- 

 tulate Mr. Sharpe on having at last been able to settle the doubt 

 which has long existed as to what the Alcedo tridactyla of Pallas 

 really was — a happy result, obtained, however, only at the expense 



* A Monograph of the Alcedinidce or Kingfishers, by R. B. Sharpe. 

 The plates drawn and lithogTaphed by Mr. J. 6. Iveulemans. Part ii, 

 October 1st, 1868 ; Part iii. January 1st, 18G9. London : roy. 8vo. 



