630 Recently pulilished Ornitliological Works. [Ibis, 



of the upper Irtysli, that great tributary of the Obi river 

 which rises ia the Altai mountains in the heart of Asia. 

 The collection made by Mr. Velizhanin numbers 251 species, 

 but no new forms are described in the present paper. As 

 the work except the title, is in Russian it is diflBcult to say 

 much more about it. 



Hwarth on Williamson's Sapsucker. 



[Geographical variation in Sphyrapicus thijroideus. By H. S. Swarth, 

 Condor, xix. 1917, pp. 62-65.] 



Mr. Swarth considers that the well-known Williamson's 

 Sapsucker of western North America may be divided into 

 two local races, distinguished by the length of the bill. 

 The typical form S. t. thyroideus, with a culmen over 

 25 mm., inhabits California and British Columbia ; the 

 newly distinguished race will bear the old name, S. t. natalice, 

 founded on a small-billed example from Mexico by Malherbe 

 (J. f. O. 1854, p. 171), and extends north to Colorado. 

 In fact it is only a winter visitor to Mexico. 



Swenk on the Eskimo Curlew. 



[The Eskimo Curlew and its disappearance. By Myron H. Swenk. 

 Smithsonian Report for 1915, 1916, pp. 325-340 ; 1 pl.J 



It appears to be likely that the Eskimo Curlew (Numenius 

 horealis) will shortly share the fate of the Passenger Pigeon 

 and the Great Auk and disappear entirely from our living 

 avifauna. First described by Forster from Hudson's Bay 

 in 1772, the Eskimo Curlew breeds in the Barren Grounds 

 of Mackenzie in the arctic regions of North America, and 

 has a very remarkable migration route to and fro from 

 Argentina — its winter home. 



In the spring migration these birds pass north through the 

 Mississippi valley, rarely if ever occurring on the Atlantic 

 coasts. After the breeding-season is finished, late in July 

 or early in August, they move south-eastwards to Labrador, 

 Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, whence they pass across 

 2000 miles of ocean^ direct to the Lesser Antilles and thence 



