Vol. Pa | 
a Recent Literature. ISI 
the A. O. U. Check-List. The number of species thus formally treated 
is 204. This is the first work of the kind on the birds of any part of the 
Pacific coast-region, and should be of great aid to “those who,” as the 
author says, “wish to have an introduction to our familiar birds in their 
native haunts,” for whom the book is especially intended. The omission 
of an Index, however, in a book of this character, is a grave fault, and 
a rare one, fortunately, in the bookmaking of to-day.—J. A. A. 
Russell on Birds of the Northwest Territory.— Mr. Frank Russell’s 
‘Explorations in the Far North’! contains a list of birds collected by him 
during two years spent in the Northwest Territory. The chief points at 
which collections of birds were made are Grand Rapids, on Lake Winni- 
peg, at the mouth of the Saskatchewan River, Aug. 30, 1892, to Feb- 20, 
1893; Crow Nest Pass, Alberta, April, 1893; Fort Chippewyan, at the 
western end of Lake Athabasca, May 15 to June 15, 1893; Fort Rae, on the 
northern arm of Great Slave Lake, July, 1893, to May, 1894, and Herschel 
Island, on the Arctic Coast, July and August, 1894.. Mr. Russell’s adven- 
turous journey was undertaken for the purpose of securing collections in 
all departments of natural history, including especially ethnology as well 
as zo6logy, ornithological work thus receiving only a portion of his atten- 
tion. The list of birds, however, numbers 122 species, and adds much in- 
teresting information on the birds of the extensive regions visited by the 
author. Instead, however, of combining all of his observations into a 
single list, it would have been more convenient for the reader, seeking 
definite information regarding particular localities, if he had divided the 
list so as to give a separate enumeration of the species found at each local- 
ity. It would have made a little repetition as regards a few species, but 
the geographical clearness thus gained would have much more than com- 
pensated for a little loss of space. 
We note that the list records the capture of two specimens of the Euro- 
pean Widgeon (Azas penelope), —one at Grand Rapids, Lake Winnipeg, 
Sept. 1,and one at Fort Rae, Aug. 22, which, taken in connection with the 
small number of Ducks reported as taken, seems quite remarkable. As 
we also note that the list records the capture of two specimens of SA7zella 
pallida at Fort Rae, and a specimen each of SAzzella soctialis artzone and 
Sayornis phebe at Fort Cnippewyan, while Contopus richardsoni is not 
mentioned, it is difficult to give quite as full confidence to the Widgeon 
records as would be otherwise natural. Also it is at least unexpected that 
his 52 specimens of Redpolls, taken at various points from Lake Winnipeg 
to Herschel Island, should all be referable to Acanthis linaria, this being 
also the only species of Acanthzs given in the list. Both species of Sco_ 
¢ 
' Explorations | in | the Far North | By | Frank Russell | — | Being the Re- 
port of an Expedition under the | Auspices of the University of Iowa | during 
the years 1892, ’93, and ’94 | — | Published by the University | 1898. —8 vo. 
pp- i-ix, + 1-290, map, and numerous half-tone plates. Birds, pp. 253-270. 
