Recently published Ornithological Works. 349 



Tn the year 1887, Dr. Holderer of Heidelberg and 

 Dr. Futterer of Karlsruhe made a journey across Central 

 Asia from the Caspian to China, and of this journey Herr 

 Schalow now gives us the ornithological results. The travel- 

 lers made but a short stay at Bokhara, Samarkand, and Tasch- 

 kent, and devoted their main energies to Chinese Tibet, their 

 chief collecting-stations ranging from the Altai, Pamir, and 

 Kashgar districts to the Gobi Desert, the Nan-schan Range, 

 the Sining-ho Valley, Koko-nor, the Upper Hoang-ho, and 

 the Tsin-ling Mountains. After an account of the literature 

 I'cFerring to these regions, we are given a list of species, which 

 contains few biological notes, but is augmented by remarks 

 on the contents of the birds^ stomachs. Pheasants were one 

 of the main features of the avifauna, Phasianus holdereri, 

 .from Min-tschou, being described as new, Fodoces biddulphi 

 was obtained at Ak-su in the isolated oasis near Thian- 

 sclian, and P. hendersoni elsewhere, but not P. humilis. 

 Three examples of the rare Archibuteo hemiptilopus Blyth 

 { = A. strophiatus Hodgs.) were procured at Koko-nor, and 

 a new species, A. holdereri, at the same place, while a 

 subspecies, Ruticilla rufiventris pleskii, from Nan-schan, 

 is recognised as distinct. 



70. Scott on the Song of Birds. 



[Data on Song in Birds — the Acquisition of new Songs. By William 

 E. D. Scott. Science, xv. p. 178 (1902).] 



Our attention is here called to some amusing facts re- 

 specting the song of birds and their powers of inventing new 

 songs, of which the writer gives some remarkable examples. 

 That a Rose- breasted Grosbeak [Zamelodia ludoviciana) 

 should be capable of talking quite plainly is surprising to 

 us, as are others of Mr. Scott's stories. No one interested in 

 bird-song should omit to read this paper. 



71. Shufeldt on the Osteology of the Pigeons. 



[On the Osteology of the Pigeons {Columbce). By R. W. Shufeldt. 

 Joiiiii. of Morphol. xvii. pp. 487-514, pis. A & B, 4 cuts.] 



In this paper, treating only of the Pigeons of the United 



