Becently published Ornithological Works. 1 73 



Roberts on South African Birds. 



TNotes on Birds in the Collection of the Transvaal Museum, with 

 descriptions of several new subspecies. By Austin Roberts. Annals 

 of the Transvaal Museum, iv. 1914, pp. 169-179.] 



This short paper contains a number of emendations and 

 corrections with regard to species and subspecies of birds 

 occurring in south Africa, and should be carefully studied 

 by all those interested in the avifauna of that region. 

 A number of new forms are described belonging to the 

 genera Lophoceros, Rhinopomastus, Anthus, Anthoscopus, 

 'Tarsiger, Centropus, and Chlorophoneus. 



Schi(t>ler on the Races of the Eider-Duck. 



[Lidt om Ederfuglen, Somateria niollissima, L. og nogle af dens 

 Racer. Af E. Lehn SchiMer. Dansk ornith. For. Tids. viii. 1914, 

 pp. 233-276, 13 text-figs.] 



This is a supplement or a continuation of a paper pub- 

 lished by the author in the same journal in 1908, and 

 contains his more recent views on the distinguishable races 

 of the Eider-Duck. Mr. Schi0ler has been able to assemble 

 together a very large mass of material, and has thoroughly 

 worked it out. He has measui-ed and reduced to an average 

 the dimensions of a large number of birds of different 

 ages and sexes belonging to the Norwegian, Faeroese, and 

 Icelandic races of the Eider, and has compared them with 

 the typical race from Sweden and Denmark. 



From liis observations and measurements it appears that 

 he is prepared to recognise the Icelandic, Faeroese, and 

 Norwegian (west and north-west) Eiders as sufficiently 

 distinct from the typical Swedish and Danish birds to be 

 regarded as subspecies, and for these he adopts the names 

 first proposed by Brehm, viz., Somateria mollissima islandira, 

 S. m. faeroeensis, and S. m. norvegica. The differences 

 between these three forms are fully detailed and illustrated 

 in the memoir, which should be consulted by all who are 

 interested in the subject. 



