Recently published Ornithological Works. 497 



often antagonistic opinions of previous authorities, the obser- 

 vations taken in Hungary at 17 stations are introduced and 

 discussed, particularly as regards the Chimney- Swallow and 

 White Stork. Numerous maps and tables illustrate this 

 excellent piece of work. 



116. Jackson on the Great Frozen Land. 



[The Great Frozen Land. By Frederick George Jackson. Edited 

 from his Joui'nals by Arthur Montefiore. London : Macmillan & Co., 

 1895.] 



As a " preliminary canter " to the Franz- Josef-Land 

 Expedition, Mr. Jackson undertook a winter journey across 

 the tundras of Arctic Russia, from Waigatz Island to Arch- 

 angel, and thence onto Vadso. Of this not very comfortable 

 but instructive joui'ney, and of the Samoyeds and their ways, 

 an account is given in the present volume, which has been 

 edited from Mr. Jackson's journals by Mr. Arthur Monte- 

 fiore. An appendix on the ornithological results of the 

 expedition is added by Mr. J. R. Jeaffreson. On this list of 

 58 species, for it is little more, a few footnotes only being 

 added, we venture to borrow Mr. Seebohm's remarks recently 

 published in 'Nature' (vol. lii. p. 385) : — 



" Unfortunately the ornithological part of Mr. Jackson's 

 volume has not fallen into such good hands. There are a 

 dozen or more gross mistakes in the spelling of the names of 

 birds, and in addition there are some curious inconsistencies. 

 In the preliminary observations we are told that Mr. Jackson 

 brought home ' Swans — not Bewick's — but the common variety 

 of that region,' in spite of which the only Swan in the list 

 (No. 28) is Bewick's Swan. Mention is made of Crossbills 

 (does the writer mean Crossbills or Grosbeaks ?) . Of the 

 Little Stint (No. 45) it is stated that the only authentic eggs 

 were those taken by MiddendorfiP. There is no reason to 

 believe that Middeudortf ever found the eggs of the Little 

 Stint. The eggs which he records as being those of Tringa 

 minuta were probably those of Tringa riificoUis, or possibly 

 those of Tringa subminuta''^ . The first identified eggs of 



* [On this question, however, see Prof. Xewton's letter in ' Nature,' lii. 

 p. 438.— Edd.] 



