1920 J Recent Literature. 4ol 



The text is very full with extended quotations from various writers 

 on the birds of the region and there are 116 text figures of heads, feet, 

 wings, etc., from line drawings by Bruce Horsfall. — J. A. G. R. 



Nicoll's 'Handlist of the Birds of Egypt.' 1 — This well prepared work 

 is an annotated list of 436 species of birds occurring in Egypt north of 

 Wadi Haifa, the nothernmost town of the Sudan. It is based upon Mr. 

 Nicoll's thirteen years' experience in studying the birds of the country 

 and upon a collection of about 4000 specimens obtained during that 

 time and now deposited in the Zoological Museum at Giza. 



The English and scientific name of each species is given, the latter 

 being the "most suitable and easily understood" of the several that may 

 be current. Then follows a statement of the relative abundance and time 

 of occurrence, and a short concise description. There is also a reference 

 to Shelley's 'Birds of Egypt' if the species is mentioned in that work, 

 though we notice that Mr. Nicoll has added quite a number not found 

 by that author. A few species entered in previous lists but not verified 

 he has wisely omitted, quoting in this connection the apt saying that 

 "What's hit is history; what's missed is mystery." An Appendix gives 

 such Arabic names as have been applied to the Egyptian birds. The 

 illustrations consist of 31 plates, most of them half-tones of skins of 

 Chats and Warblers while the others are rather crudely tinted figures of 

 a number of species. The book is a publication of the Ministry of Public 

 Works issued by the Government Press at Cairo to meet a demand for 

 information upon the identity of the native birds, which was especially 

 urgent during the period of the war, when many visitors were in the 

 country. Mr. Nicoll is to be congratulated upon an excellent piece of 

 work both for the instruction of the public and for handy reference of the 

 ornithologist who desires an up to date list of the birds of Egypt. — W. S. 



Sachtleben on Goldfinches. 2 — This paper is an elaborate discussion 

 of the geographic forms of the Black-headed Goldfinches of Europe and 

 Africa. Eleven races are recognized by the author and long lists of speci- 

 mens with measurements are presented, with a full discussion of synonymy 

 and relationship. 



Names are available for all of the forms recognized, though we notice 

 that one of them, Carduelis c. balcanica, was named by the author in a 

 previous paper in the 'Anzeiger Ornith. Gesellsch. Bayern' for February, 

 1919.— W. S. 



i Hand-List of the Birds of Egypt. By M. J. Nicoll, F. Z. S., M. B., O. U. 

 Assistant Director, Zoological Service. Publication No. 29. Ministry of Public 

 Works, Cairo, Egypt. Government Press, 1919, pp. i-xii, 1-119, pll. 1-31. 

 Price: P. T. 15. 



2 Die geographischen Formen des schwarzkopfingen Distelfinken. Von Dr. H. 

 Sachtleben. Arch. f. Naturg. 84 Jahrgang. February, 1920. 



