232 Recent Ornithological Publications. 



other sources. The gentleman last named has been so fortunate 

 as to discover in Madagascar a perfect tibia, a femur, and several 

 vertebrae, besides fragmentary remains, of jEpyornis maxima, 

 which it is to be hoped will settle the vexed question of the true 

 position of that remarkable and gigantic form : the tibia is 64 

 centimetres in length ! Finally, we have to mention that the 

 series of figures of nestling-birds is being still continued by 

 M. Marchand. 



3. Italian. 



The fourth volume of the *Atti' of the Royal Academy of 

 Sciences of Turin contains a paper by Dr. Salvadori on a small 

 collection of birds brought from Costa Rica by Sig. Luigi 

 Durando*. Twenty-three species are enumerated ; and though 

 none of them are new, some have been only recently described 

 by Dr. Cabanis, Messrs. Lawrence, Salvin, and others, and the 

 additional information given with respect to them is often of 

 value. Pheucticus tibialis, Baird {cf. Ibis, 1868, p. 115), a 

 handsome species, is figured for the first time. A new genus, 

 Urospatha (p. 179), is proposed for the reception of Prionites or 

 Momotus martii (Spix). It difi'ers from Momotus proper (in 

 which Crybelus, Cabanis, may be included) in having ten instead 

 of twelve rectrices ; but in this respect it agrees with the other 

 genera of Momotidce, namely, Eumomota, Prionorhynchus, Hylo- 

 manes, and Baryphtheugus. To the last-named, indeed, Urospatha 

 is very closely allied, and almost the only character by which it 

 may be distinguished is that afforded by the spatulate ends of 

 the middle rectrices. All the species in the list are included 

 in Mr. Lawrence's recent Catalogue of the Birds of Costa Rica, 

 of which we hope soon to furnish a more extended notice. In 

 conclusion, we may remark that we think the species included 

 as Picolaptes lineaticeps, Lafr., should rather be called P. com- 

 pressus (Cab.). It is true that the Central- American and Mexi- 

 can bird has usually been referred to Lafresnaye's name and 

 description (R. Z. 1850, p. 277); but we think Dr. Cabanis 



* Intorno ad alcuni Uccelli di Costa Eica note di Tommaso Salvadori. 

 Atti della R. Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, vol. iv. pp. 170-185, 

 ciwi tab. 



