Recently published Ornithological Works. 489 



Nidificazione in Italia. Per Cecilia Picchi. Omis, xii. (1903-1904) 

 pp. 381-562.] 



This extract from our contemporary consists of a full 

 list of the author's collection, with notes on the distribution 

 and nesting of the birds in Italy and its islands, dates of 

 capture, and native names. It will be found useful as a 

 guide by any naturalist who intends to visit the country. 



7<». Picchi on Heterochroism. 



[Picchi, Cecilia. Anomalie nel colorito del plumaggio osservato in 

 85 individui della mia collezione ornitologiea Italiana, e breve cenno 

 suU' eterocrossi. Avicula, vii. Si. viii. Siena, 1904. 35 pp.] 



This is an essay on heterochroism or variations in colour 

 in the plumage of birds, of which the author appears to be a 

 careful student. It is accompanied by a description of the 

 variations in 85 specimens of Gl species. 



77. Poche on Moehring's ' Genera of Birds' 



[Ein bisher nicbt beriicksichtiges zoologisches Werk aus dem Jahre 

 1758, in dem die Grunsatze der binaren Nomenklatur befolgt sind. 

 Von Franz Poche, Berlin. Zool. Anz. xxvii. pp. 495 (1904).] 



Moehring's original edition of his ' Avium Genera/ 

 published at Bremen in 1752, is universally allowed to be 

 pre-Linmean and outside the pale of binomial nomenclature. 

 But Herr Poche, who appears to be an ardent supporter of 

 the new school of unlimited priority, has discovered that a 

 Dutch edition of Moehring's ' Genera ' (edited by Noze- 

 man and Vossmaer) was published at Amsterdam in 1758, 

 which, in Herr Poche's opinion, brings that work within the 

 scope of the binomial system. To those who (like ourselves) 

 take Linnseus's twelfth edition of the 'Systema Naturae' 

 as the proper date of the commencement of binomial nomen- 

 clature this is not of much consequence. But to those who 

 begin with the tenth edition (1752) this is an awkward 

 discovery, although we are of opinion that in this case, 

 as in other similar resuscitations of long- forgotten works 

 (of which one or two copies only are known to exist), the 

 claims of priority should be absolutely ignored. 



