Recent Literature. 77 



fUmrt Hitertttttre. 



Sharpe's "Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum." — 

 Three volumes of this important work have now appeared. The first, de- 

 voted to the Diurnal Birds of Prey, was published in 1874 ; the second, 

 embracing the Owls, in 1875 ; and the third, treating of several families 

 of Passerine hirds, in 1877.* These volumes are intended to embrace de- 

 scriptions of all the known species of the groups treated, and hence form 

 invaluable hand-books. The descriptions are generally very detailed, 

 embracing an account of the various stages of plumage through which the 

 different species pass, and copious bibliographical references are given. 

 While the labor bestowed upon these volumes is evidently very great, 

 they are not in all respects what we should like to see them. No generic 

 diagnoses, for instance, are given beyond what may be gleaned from the 

 " Keys to the Genera" of each subfamily, and generally no comparative 

 characters of the species, except those afforded by the "Keys" accom- 

 panying the genera. The keys themselves, both of the genera and 

 species, are a great help in determining the species, but do not always 

 fully serve their intended purpose. The species are generally described 

 without direct comparison with their near allies, and although the descrip- 

 tions are sometimes greatly extended, they too often fail to duly emphasize 

 important or distinctive points. By a judicious grouping of common 

 characters and contrasted diagnoses, the essential points of difference be- 

 tween closely allied forms would have been made more prominent, and 

 the amount of text rather lessened than increased. Our gratitude for 

 a general work on the birds of the world, containing so many points of 

 excellence as the present, ought perhaps to soften our criticism, especially 

 when it is remembered how few have either the courage, the endurance, or 

 access to the necessary material, for the great task Mr. Sharpe has so ener- 

 getically undertaken and is so ably carrying out. 



The Baptorial Birds are treated as an order (Accipitrcs), with three sub- 

 orders, Falcones, Pandiones, and Striges. For the Diurnal Birds of Prey, 

 the old family divisions of Vulturidce and Falconidce are retained, except 

 that the Fish-Hawks (genera Pandion and Polioaetus) are removed from 

 the latter to form the wholly untenable "suborder " Pandiones. The 



* Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Vol. I. Catalogue of the 

 Accipitres, or Diurnal Birds of Prey. By R. Bowdler Sharpe. 8vo. pp. xiii. 

 480, pis. xiv. London, 1874. Vol. II. Cataogue of the Striges, or Nocturnal 

 Birds of Prey. By the same. 8vo., pp. xi, 326, pis. xiv. 1875. Vol. III. 

 Catalogue of the Coliomorphre, containing the families Corvida;, Paradiseidaa, 

 Oriolidre, Dicruridaj, and Prionopida;. By the same. 8vo, pp. xiii, 344, pis. 

 xiv. 1877. 



