I'll Recent Literature. [April 



Lucas on the Osteology of the Paridae, Sitta, and Chamaea.* — In this 

 paper Mr. Lucas passes in review the piincipal osteological characters of 

 these groups. The genera Partis, Auriparus, ^githalus, and Psaltripa- 

 rus, differ much from each other in cranial characters, and form a group 

 much less homogeneous than the Swallows, Wrens, or Thrushes. Sitta 

 differs so much from any of the Titmice that it seems proper to place it 

 in a separate family from the Paridce. Ckafncea, as previously pointed 

 out by Dr. Shufeldt (see Auk, VII, p. 27S), appears to find its nearest rel- 

 ative in Psaltripariis, and not with the Wrens, as Mr. Lucas was formerly 

 inclined to believe (see Auk, VII, p. 277). "It appears, then," says Mr. 

 Lucas, "that in its cranial characters C/iam(Pa is much like Psaltriparus, 

 while the shoulder girdle is slightly, and the pelvic girdle decidedly, Wren- 

 like. . . . On the other hand, none of the characters shown in the skel- 

 eton of Chamcea seems sufficient to warrant placing the genus either with 

 the Wrens or Tits, but rather bear out the intermediate position indicated 

 in the name Wren-tit." — J. A. A. 



Lucas on the Structure of the Tongue in Hummingbirds. f — The 

 tongue of the Hummingbird has generally been supposed to be tubular, 

 but Mr. Lucas shows that this is not so, in a strict sense. Towards the 

 tip "the tongue becomes forked, each division being a rod bordered 

 by a wide flange of thin membrane," which curls upward and inward, so 

 that toward the apex two very delicate parallel tubes are formed. The 

 tubular part, however, "exists only for a short distance towards the ante- 

 rior end, so that the common statement that the tongue of the Humming- 

 bird consists of two parallel muscular tubes is quite erroneous." The 

 width of the bordering membranes is found to vary in different genera. 

 "Certainly there can be no sucking in the proper meaning of the word, 

 since no vacuum can be formed at the back of the tongue, and liquids 

 probably pass through the tubular portion by capillary attraction." A 

 plate and figures in the text aid in giving a \G^ry clear idea of this peculiar 

 mechanism. — J. A. A. 



Lucas on the Bird Skeletons Collected by the U. S. Fish Commission 

 Steamer ' Albatross. '+ — These skeletons lepresent 2)2) species, mostly' 

 water birds, including Creagrus fiircatus. A few notes are given on the 

 osteology of the four species of Cormorants collected. — J. A. A. 



*Notes on the Osteology of the Paridae, Sitta, and Chamasa. By Frederic A. 

 Lucas. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIII, 1890, pp. 337-345, pi. xxvii. 



tOn the Structure of the Tongue in Hummingbirds. By Frederic A. Lucas. Proc. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus., XIV, 1891, pp. 167-172, pi. iv. 



J Scientific Results of Explorations by the U. S. Fish Commission Steamer Alba- 

 tross. XIII. Catalogue of Skeletons of Birds Collected at the Abrolhos Islands, 

 Brazil, the Straits of Magellan, and the Galapagos Islands, in 1887-88. By Frederic 

 A. Lucas. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIII, 1890, pp. 127-130. 



