° 19]^2 J Recent Liter alure. 257 



and Dendrocolaptidae (41) as well as the Trochilidse (174), Micropodidae 

 (25) and Trogonidae (23) of the Coraciiformes. 



The style of treatment, details of synonymy and distribution, etc., are 

 fully up to the high standard of the preceding volumes, while the mass of 

 information relating to extralimital species contained in the keys and foot- 

 notes will be as heretofore most welcome to the student of South American 

 birds. While this volume, covering as it does, the exceedingly difficult 

 Tracheophone families and Hummingbirds is perhaps a more valuable 

 contribution to ornithology than any of its predecessors, it contains but 

 few species which range north of the Mexican boundary. In fact only 

 twenty-three of the forms here treated are to be found in the A. O. U. 

 Check-List and unfortunately for those who hoped that stability in nomen- 

 clature had been reached in the last edition of that work, Mr. Ridgway 

 has found occasion to alter the names of seven of them. These proposed 

 changes however are all questions of specific or subspecific rank or of the 

 subdivision of genera — largely matters of personal opinion. The genus 

 Trogon is subdivided and T. ambiguus is placed in Trogonurus; Cypse- 

 loides meets the same fate and our Black Swift appears as Nephoecetes 

 niger borealis; Uranomitra is united with Amizilis; Atthis morcomi is 

 regarded as a subspecies of A. heloisa and Amizilis chalconota as a subspecies 

 of A. yucatanensis not of A. cerviniventris while the recognition of extra- 

 limital subspecies of A . Izacatl and Basilinna leucotis requires the duplica- 

 tion of the specific name in the North American forms in order to conform 

 to the method adopted by the new edition of the Check-List and by Mr. 

 Ridgway. 



Most of the new forms described during the progress of the work have 

 been published elsewhere but the following date from the present volume;; 

 Campylorhamphus trochilirostris major Rdgw. p. 269, Popelairia conversii 

 salvini Zeledon ms. p. 680, Chrysotrogon ramonianus goeldii Rdgw. p. 786 

 and two new genera Chrysotrogon, p. 784, and Mearnsia, p. 686. 



While following the prevalent custom of adopting the original spelling 

 of names Mr. Ridgway now and then finds himself unable to live up to 

 the practice. For instance guy is emended to guyi and Manikup is re- 

 jected entirely as ' barbarous and cacophonous.' The recent wide-spread 

 discussion as to the proper method of fixing generic types has led the 

 author to leave some cases in abeyance. For instance he adopts Archi- 

 lochus for Trochilus of authors but fails to substitute the latter for Aithurus; 

 and he adopts the admittedly untenable name Rhopoterpe pending the 

 fixing of the type of Myrmornis. These are trivial matters but it seems 

 unfortunate that they could not have been settled in a work of such scope 

 and authority. 



It is welcome news to learn that good progress has been made with 

 Part VI and we feel sure that ornithologists, the world over, while renewing 

 their acknowledgment of indebtedness to Mr. Ridgway, will wish him 

 every facility for the successful completion of the great task that he has. 

 undertaken. — W. S. 



