366 Notes and Neivs. [^y 



During the trip '']\Ir. Heller has prepared 1,020 specimens of mammals, 

 the majority of large size; Mr. Loring has prepared 3,163, and Dr. Mearns 

 714 — a total of 4,897 mammals. Of birds, Dr. Mearns has prepared 

 nearly 3,100, Mr. Loring 899, and Mr. Heller abovit 50 — a total of about 

 4,000 birds. Of reptiles and batrachians, Messrs. Mearns, Loring, and 

 Heller collected about 2,000. Of fishes, about 500 were collected. Dr. 

 Mearns collected marine fishes near Mombasa, and fresh-water fishes 

 elsewhere in British East Africa, and he and Cuninghame collected fishes 

 in the White Nile." This makes a total of about 11,400 vertebrates, prob- 

 ably greatly exceeding the number ever taken by any expedition in the 

 same length of time in any country. Besides this, Dr. Mearns collected 

 several thousand plants, and, with assistance from other members of the 

 party, considerable anthropological material and many insects, moUusks 

 and other invertebrates. 



All of these vast collections have safely reached the U. S. National Mu- 

 seimi in Washington, where specialists are already at work upon them. It 

 is understood that Mr. Heller will prepare the report on the mammals, and 

 Dr. Mearns the report on the birds. 



A NEW cjuarterly ornithological magazine, printed in the Russian lan- 

 guage, but which may be designated in English as the ' Ornithological 

 Messenger,' has made its appearance at Moscow, Russia, under the edi- 

 torial direction of G. I. Poliakoff (address: Russia, Moscow, Leontiewsky, 

 No. 17, 5. Annual subscription, 2.50 Rbl.). The first two numbers (1910) 

 contain articles by such well known authorities on Russian birds as S. A . 

 Buturlin, P. P. Suschkin, S. N. Alpheraky, N. A. Sarundy, and others, 

 there being descriptions of several new species, a continued paper on the 

 birds of the eastern part of the Azov Sea (by Alpheraky), a revision of the 

 Nightingales of the genus Philomela Link (by Buturlin, with a summary 

 in English), and reviews of current ornithological literature. 



The early appearance of Mr. M. A. Carriker's work on the Birds of 

 Costa Rica, left by him in manuscript, on his departure last summer for 

 South America, for publication by the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh, 

 is now assured, the matter being in type and ready for printing. 



A NEW work, soon to appear in twelve sections, is announced by T. C. 

 and E. C. Jack, of London and Edinburgh, entitled " The British Bird Book, 

 an account of the birds, nests and eggs found in the British Isles," under 

 the editorship of F. B. Kirkman, with "200 plates in color and many in 

 monochrome." The authors include a number of well known authorities 

 on British birds, and among the artists are H. Gronvold, A. W. Seaby, 

 and G. E. Lodge, while photographs will also be freely used in illustration. 

 With the profusion of books on British birds, it would seem that the field 

 is already well covered, but there appears to be still room for another if of 

 the exhaustive character here promdsed. One of the principal objects in 



