554. Recenthj puhlished Ornithological IVorks. [Ibis^ 



The iris is noticed as bright red, whereas in the Common 

 Pochard it appears to be yellowish to orange. The third 

 new bird is Cami^epliaga luyuhris asakurai from Formosa. 



Matheivs and Iredales Manual of Australian Birds. 



[A Manual of the Birds of Australia. By Greg-ory M. Mathews and 

 Tom Iredale, illustrated with coloured and monochrome plates by 

 Lilian Medland. Vol. T. Orders Casuarii lo Columhse. Pp. xxiv4- 

 279; 10 col. & 36 monochrome plates. London (Witherhy), 192L 

 8vo. Price ,£3 36'. each volume.] 



Not content with his larger work on the birds of 

 Australia^ o£ which eight volumes are now complete, the 

 indefatigable Mr. Mathews in collaboration with ^Ir. Iredale 

 has now planned a new work on the same subject on a 

 somewhat smaller and less ambitious scale, to be completed 

 in four volumes, of which this is the first. 



As is now the case with the larger work, the species are 

 treated of as a whole, and the subspecific races are only 

 mentioned under the heading " Distribution and Forms." 

 The other information in regard to breeding habits is con- 

 cisely statied, and full description of the plumages are given. 

 There are no keys, but the genera and fam.ilies are fully 

 diagnosed. The classification is somewliat novel and is 

 somewhat on the lines of Sharpe's ' Hand-list,' but the 

 arrangement and names of the orders are altered ; while 

 in the present volume tlie Frigate-bird is raised to tlie 

 dignity of a special order, and the Gulls, Shore-birds 

 (Charadriiformes), and Tropic Birds are banded together 

 under the order Lari. 



The monochrome plates of heads, bills, and feet will 

 undoubtedly be found most useful to explain the generic 

 diagnoses. Our only complaint is that they are not referred 

 to in the text ; indeed, they would have proved more useful 

 still if they could have been intei'polated in the letterpress 

 on the pages to which they refer. Seven subspecies have 

 been named as new belonging to the genera Eudyptes, 

 Heleroprion, Phcebetria, Sulita, Chlidunias {=: Ili/drochelidon 

 auct.), and Pelecanopus. 



