632 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



and ' Bird-Lore ' (see above, p. 272). After a summary of 

 the previous information on the subject, Mr. Chapman gives 

 us an account of his two visits to the Bahamas in 1902 and 

 1904, and of the results of the observations made on these 

 occasions. These results embrace full particulars as to the 

 nesting-ground, nest, eggs, and mode of incubation, together 

 "with full descriptions of the young during the various stages 

 of their growth, illustrated by a series of text-figures prepared 

 from photographs taken by the author. It follows that so 

 far from the breeding-habits of the Flamingo being any 

 longer mysterious we are now made better acquainted with 

 them than with those of many well-known species which are 

 quite familiar to us. 



Mr. Chapman points out that on comparing measurements 

 of the embryos and young of the Flamingo with those of the 

 adult, a surprising increase in the length of the tarsus as 

 age advances is manifest. The tarsus, which in the embryo 

 is but a little longer than the middle toe and claw, and 

 about one-tenth of the total length of the bird, becomes in 

 the adult three times the length of the middle toe and claw, 

 and approximately one-fifth of the total length of the bird. 

 This would clearly indicate that the Flamingo is descended 

 from a short-legged ancestor, and is perhaps little more than 

 a " long-legged Goose," as some authors have called it. The 

 remarkable form of the bill, as Mr. Chapman shews, is also 

 a character which does not exist in the newly-hatched bird, 

 and must have been recently acquired. 



As Mr. Chapman has probably a good supply of specimens 

 in store we would beg him to continue his excellent work by 

 having an accurate comparison made between the ptilosis of 

 Phoenicopterus and that of the Anseres on one side, and the 

 Herodiones on the other, to ascertain which of the two 

 groups it most nearly resembles. 



94. Germain and Oustalet on the Birds of Lower Cochin China. 



[Catalogue des Oiseaux de la Basse-Cochinchine. Par Rodolphe 

 Germain et E. Oustalet. Bull. Soc. Nat. d'Acclim., Juin 1905, p. 169.] 



This is the commencement of a series of articles on the 



