140 Recent Literature. [j a u ^ 



important contribution to a rather neglected subject. The major and 

 median under wing-coverts, as many may know, are reversed, that is to say 

 the exposed side is the under side of the feather. Moreover they overlap 

 one another in two ways, either in the same way as the remiges or in the 

 opposite way, and they may be reduced in size or be in part lacking. The 

 differences which they exhibit in these respects may naturally be of much 

 importance as giving an intimation of relationships between different groups 

 and Mr. Bates offers his notes with an idea of their use in this connection. 

 While he does not consider them sufficiently complete for reaching any 

 general conclusions he calls attention to the fact that the Owls and Night- 

 jars show no tendency whatever to the condition prevailing in the Picarian 

 families, that the Parrots show no resemblance to the Cuckoo type nor the 

 Swifts to that prevailing in the Kingfishers and Woodpeckers. 



Notes on Recently Described Races of Siamese and Malayan Birds, with 

 a Description of one New Race. By H. C. Robinson and C. Boden Kloss. — 

 This paper and a reply by Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker deal with the validity of 

 various new forms described mainly by Baker and Kloss. The brevity 

 of many descriptions and the impossibility of recognizing the bird described, 

 without access to the type have already been discussed in the review pages 

 of ' The Auk,' and we heartily endorse what these authors have to say in 

 this line. While the status of some of the forms discussed is apparently 

 settled, in the majority of cases each side maintains their opinion, and we 

 have still another illustration of the impossibility of agreement where 

 differences are so slight that personal opinion is the main criterion in de- 

 ciding on their recognizability. 



Notes upon European Birds met with during a Short Visit to South 

 Africa. By B. B. Riviere. 



A List of the Birds of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, based on -the Collec- 

 tions of Mr. A. L. Butler, Mr. A. Chapman and Capt. H. Lynes, and Major 

 Cuthbert Christy. Part II. By W. L. Slater and C. Mackworth Praed — 

 This contribution of 119 pages concludes the Passeres. As in the preceding 

 instalment many species are considered with regard to all their geographic 

 races and new forms are described both from the Sudan and elsewhere. 

 We notice the following new forms proposed: Cinnyris osea butleri (p. 619), 

 Lado Enclave; Rhodophoneus cruentus kordofanicus (p. 633), Western 

 Kordofan; Tschagra senegala sudanensis (p. 637), Mongalla, Sudan; 

 Cisticola erythrops zwaiensis (p. 656); Lake Zwai, southern Abyssinia; 

 C. e. roseires (p. 657), Roreires, Sennar; Sylvictta rufescens transvaalensis 

 (p. 667), Rustenberg, Transvaal; Eremomela flaviventris alexanderi (p. 673) 

 Bara, Kordofan; Parisoma blanfordi somaliensis (p. 707), Mundara, 

 Somaliland; Elminia longicauda loandae (p. 712), N'Dalla Tando, North 

 Angola; and Hirundo puella unitatis (p. 718), Pinetown, Natal. 



This issue of 'The Ibis ' is the 224th and completes the tenth series of this 

 notable magazine. The editor believes that it compares favorably with 

 the previous series, notwithstanding the unprecedented events that have 



