626 Recent Literature. loct! 



Wilson's Promontory (Victoria) and its Wild Life. By Charles Barrett. 

 — This region comprising approximately 100,000 acres is now a National 

 Park carefully guarded by competent rangers. A list of the birds so far 

 recorded from it is appended. 



Birds of the Mount Compass District, South Australia. By Edwin 

 Ashby. 



Notes on Parasitism. By H. Stuart Dove. 



Colour-Sense in Satin Bower-Birds. By H. V. Edwards. — Seem to 

 show a marked preference for blue objects when gathering materials for 

 their bower. 



Variation in the Albatrosses and Petrels. By Leverett M. Loomis. — 

 Consists mainly of a rewriting of matter already published in 'The Auk', 

 one of the illustrations having already appeared there although the fact 

 is not mentioned. 



In 'Camera Craft Notes' there are several interesting photographic 

 reproductions including one of a young Little Penguin. 



The Austral Avian Record. IV, No. 1. May 27, 1920. 



Dates of Ornithological Works. By G. M. Mathews. — This is a con- 

 densed reprint of the author's valuable article in his Appendix to the 

 'Birds of Australia', which is now rendered available to all. 



The Austral Avian Record. Vol. IV, No. 2 and 3. July 28, 1920. 



Avian Taxonomy. By G. M. Mathews and Tom Iredale. — This 

 paper consists mainly of a scheme of classification of the birds of the world 

 running down to families. The authors give no reasons for their de- 

 parture from current systems where they differ from these, though as a 

 matter of fact there does not seem to be much that is original in their 

 scheme, except in the rank which they give to different groups. One is 

 rather surprised to see the list bristling with "suborders" and "super- 

 families" when they refuse to make use of "subgenera" which, in the 

 opinion of many, would so adequately express their ideas on the proper 

 grouping of species without completely upsetting our nomenclature. 

 The authors are not always very clear in the wording of their introduc- 

 tory pages, but they seem to have an ill-concealed contempt for the anato- 

 mist, especially if he be not an ornithologist, as they say: "A complica- 

 tion has been present in the peculiar usurpation of recent taxonomies 

 . by individuals ignorant of avian forms. We have been quite unable to 

 appreciate the reasons for acquiescence in the unmerited dogmatism of 

 such writers, whose inability to understand avian evolution has been dis- 

 guised by the usage of barbaric terms." Following this comes the aston- 

 ishing statement that "only three taxonomists have dealt with bird 

 classification in a scientific manner, viz., Steineger, Sharpe and Shufeldt, 

 and these were more or less confused by the peculiarities proposed by 

 their predecessors, and could not deal clearly with the matters in view." 

 With all due respect and admiration for the three gentlemen mentioned 

 we can hardly accept this statement of Messrs. Mathews and Iredale and 



