^"^igie^"*] Recent Literature. 87 



erroneously so published in the ' Pocket Edition ' of the Check-List, al- 

 though it appears correctly ' macularia ' in the regular edition. 



Dr. Grinnell's work closes with a ' Hypothetical List ' of 61 species 

 erroneously accredited to California or recorded upon evidence which he 

 is unable to accept as conclusive. 



Altogether this hst is admirably prepared and gives us the status of the 

 Californian avifauna up to date by one whose opinion upon this subject is 

 accepted as authoritative, although there may be differences of opinion 

 as to the number of geographic races that it is desirable to recognize even 

 in so diversified a State as California. 



There may be expressions of regret at the absence of data on migration, 

 nidification and taxonomy, but the author has explained in the introduc- 

 tion that the Ust is solely distributional and he has consistently adhered 

 to his plan. — • W. S. 



Wood on the Eyelids of Birds. ^ — -Dr. Wood here presents the re- 

 sults of investigations made in conjunction with Prof. Slonaker in the phy- 

 siological laboratories of Stanford University, largely upon the eye of the 

 English Sparrow, although various other species were also examined. He 

 considers in great detail the muscular structure of the eyelids and the 

 method of lachrymal di'ainage. Not only is the activity of the lids re- 

 versed from what we find in the mammals, the lower not the upper one 

 being movable, but the whole method of closing is different. The Ostrich, 

 Seriema and certain birds of prey have filoplumous feathers which serve 

 the purpose of eyelashes in mammals and closely resemble them. The 

 Sparrow's eyelashes, however, do not apparently offer any protection to 

 the eye while the Parrots have no trace of eyelashes. 



Dr. Wood's paper is a careful piece of technical work, and similar studies 

 in the anatomy of other avian organs would be welcome.^ 



The confusion that may arise when the technicalities of two branches 

 of science are brought together is curiously illustrated in Dr. Wood's 

 treatise. He constantly makes use of the word ' tarsus ' familiar to 

 ophthalmologists as indicating a plate of condensed connective tissue on 

 the edge of the eyelid, but when he addresses ornithologists who know the 

 tarsus only as the usually exposed portion of the bird's foot above the toes, 

 this term is somewhat confusing ! — W. S. 



Cooke on the Distribution and Migration of North American 

 Gulls. ^ — - In this pamphlet Prof. Cooke treats the Laridae in the same 



1 The Eyelids and Lachrymal Apparatus of Bu*ds (reprinted from Ophthal- 

 mology, July, 1915). By Casey A. Wood, M. D. Repaged 1-18. 



2 cf. p. 84, antea. 



' Distribution and Migration of North American Gulls and their Allies. By 

 Wells W. Cooke. Bull. No. 292, U. S Dept. of Agriculture. October 25, 1915. 

 pp. 1-70. (For sale by Supt. of Documents Gov't. Printing Office, Washington, 

 D. C. 15 cents.) 



