Vol 'i*i9 XVI ] Recent Literature. 597 



that he rejects Chlidonias because published in a newspaper, but at the 

 same time names are accepted from foreign journals which difter little if 

 at all in character from that in which Rafinesque published his genus. 



Among forms rejected by Mr. Ridgway we notice Squatarola squatarola 

 cynosurce Thayer and Bangs, while our two species of Yellowlegs which Dr. 

 Oberholser, following Mathews, regards as belonging to two different 

 genera Mr. Ridgway finds to be strictly congeneric. It is very gratifying 

 to have his fair and unbiased opinion on this and a number of other recently 

 proposed changes which will have to be decided some day by the A. O. U. 

 Committee. 



We are pleased to learn from the preface that work is already in progress 

 on Part I X, which will include the Cranes, Gallinaceous Birds, and Birds 

 of Prey, leaving the remaining families for Part X. We sincerely hope 

 that Mr. Ridgway will be able to complete these two volumes in the near 

 future and round out what will for a long time rank as the most import- 

 ant systematic work on American birds. — W. S. 



Witherby's ' A Practical Handbook of British Birds.' — Two more 



parts of this excellent work l have appeared since our previous notice 

 (Auk, 1919, p. 432), covering the remainder of the Fringilhdse, the Alaudidae, 

 and most of the Motacillidse. The standard set in the first part is admir- 

 ably maintained and a vast amount of accurate information is presented 

 in a concise form. The colored plates, which are most attractively printed, 

 represent the heads of Buntings and Wagtails and a group of Crossbills 

 with nest and young, while the uncolored halftone plates of Redpolls and of 

 young Larks and Pipits are exceedingly well drawn, to show the differences 

 in plumage, while the printing gives a remarkably soft effect. The Redpoll 

 plate may be consulted with profit by American bird students who desire 

 to become better acquainted with the appearance of the several boreal 

 forms which occasionally visit our northern States in winter. 



We note that Mr. Witherby rejects Kleinschmidt's name hostilis for the 

 British House Sparrow, which is the same race as that which we have in 

 America. The only way in which it was claimed that it differed from the 

 continental race was in its smaller size, but Mr. Witherby finds that the 

 average difference in length of wing is less than 3 mm. and that of 90 

 individuals only 17 could be certainly distinguished by their size. Dr. 

 Oberholser (Auk, 1917, p. 329) accepted Kleinschmidt's name without 

 presenting any corroborative evidence, but in view of Mr. Witherby's 

 investigations we may safely retain domesticus as the name of our " English 

 Sparrow." — W. S. 



i A Practical Handbook of British Birds, Edited by H. F. Witherby. Part 2 (pp. 68-128), 

 April 30, and Part 3 (pp. 129-208), June 18, 1919. Price 4s. net per part. In 18 parts. 

 Witherby & Co., 326 High Holborn, W. C. I., London. 



