5r)0 Rectnthj piibrtshfil Oniitholoyical H'urks. 



80. Hurtert on the Trucliilida\ 



[Das Tierreich. 9. Lieferiing, Aves. Trocliilidii', bearbeitet v. Ernst 

 Hartert. Berlin : R. Friedlauder u. Sohn. ISOO. 254 pp.] 



lu this closely but very clearly printed brochure of 254 

 pages Mr. Hartert has managed to compress a complete 

 synopsis of his favourite grouj) of Humming-birds, on the 

 preparation of which, as all our friends know, he has been 

 long and busily engaged. There can be no doubt about the 

 value and tiie convenience of this new handbook of a much 

 studied and most attractive group of birds, and we heartily 

 congratulate our fellow-worker in Ornithology at having 

 bronsht it to so earlv and so successful a conclusion. The 

 author allows but one family of Humming-birds, which he 

 does not cA^en consider divisible into subfamilies, so great 

 is the general conformity in structure of all the members of 

 this well-defined group. This family, however, ho divides 

 into 118 genera and 475 " certain ^^ species (besides 33 

 "uncertain^' species) and 130 subspecies. Salvin, the last 

 monographer, aUowed 482 species and no "subspecies." 

 Mr. Hartert, we know, is a severe adherent of ''priority'^ and 

 has a right to his own views, but we cannot think he will bo 

 followed in hunting-up again such generic names as "Colibri," 

 " Oc7'eatus," " Popelairea," and others, which have been 

 rejected for excellent reasons. It would have been better to 

 have adopted Salvin's lead in such vexed questions, which, 

 after all, depend upon individual opinion. On the whole, 

 however, we have here an excellent piece of work^ which 

 could have only been carried out by indefatigable exertions 

 aided by an intense love of the subject. We wish it had 

 been written in Latin (or English) instead of German, but 

 that, we snppose, would not have suited the Editor of ' Das 

 Tierreich.' 



81. Hartert on the Birds oj Rul(, Curoti/ic.s. 



[The Birds of Kuk, iu the Central Carolines. By Eru.-5t Hartert. 

 Nov. Zool. vii. p. 1.] 



Houibr(ni and .)ac(juinot, (ini'ing the voyage of the 'Astro- 



