230 Recent Literature. [a^^ 



extinct species include an indeterminate species of stork, crane, pheasant, 

 etc., besides the two extinct species already mentioned, and a Black Vul- 

 ture, considered to be specifically distinct from the existing species and 

 (in a footnote) named Catharista occidentalis. — J. A. A. 



Ticehurst's 'A History of the Birds of Kent.' — The County of Kent, in 

 the southeast of England, is an area of small extent, with a length of some 

 64 miles and an average breadth of about 26 miles. It is for the most 

 part low, mvich of it below one hundred feet above sea-level and only small 

 portions reach an elevation of 500 feet. It is, however, rich in bird life, 

 which has had frequent historians, at least for portions of the County. 

 Mr. Ticehurst states that "some eighteen books or pamphlets have been 

 written dealing with the avifauna of the whole or a part of Kent or con- 

 taining lists of birds that have been found in different districts," the first 

 historian having been William Boys (1735-1803), who obtained the type 

 specimens of the Sandwich Tern, the Dartford Warbler and the Kentish 

 Plover, all described by Latham from specimens obtained by Boys at Sand- 

 wich, in Kent. Mr. Ticehurst, however, is the first to take up the work 

 exhaustively, and to produce a monograph ' that will long be the standard 

 on the subject. An introduction of some 30 pages treats of the topography, 

 geology, and vegetation, and the relation of these features to the avifauna; 

 the local migration, number of species, the local museums and collections 

 that contain Kentish specimens, and the work of former authors on the 

 birds of Kent. From this we learn that the species entitled to be recog- 

 nized as birds of Kent number 312, with 42 others whose claims to such 

 recognition are considered doubtful, but which are presented in bracketed 

 paragraphs. "Of the 107 species which breed regularly in Kent 37 are 

 purely summer visitors and 70, whether migratory or not, may be found 

 in the county throughout the year." 



The main text takes up the species in systematic sequence, beginning 

 with the Thrushes, with reference to their manner of occurrence in Kent, 

 special consideration being given to the subject of their local movements 

 and migrations. Following the name's of each species references are given 

 to the principal works on Kentish birds, citing the names only of the authors 

 and page references to their works, which are listed, with their full titles, 

 in a bibliography of the books and periodicals consulted (pp. xxv-xxix), 

 while the original records, in the case of the rarer species, are cited in foot- 

 notes. 



On casually turning the pages of the work one may be struck with the 

 antiquated character of the technical nomenclature, but this is explained 

 in the preface as follows: "With regard to the vexed questions of nomen- 



» A History | of the Birds of Kent | By | Norman F. Ticehurst, 1 M. A., F. R. C. 

 S., F. Z. S., M. B. O. U. I With twenty-four plates and a map | Witherby & Co.l 

 326 High Holborn London | 1909 — 8vo, pp. i-lvi + 1-568, 24 half-tone plates, and 

 a large colored map. Price, 21s. net. 



