448 



Recoit Literature. ^^^"^ 



■"02, which has furnished the basis for two papers, tlie first, entitled ' Field 

 Notes on some Bahama Birds,' published recently in the ' Avicultural 

 Magazine ' (see Auk, rt«/<?(^?, pp. 230, 231), and the second, here under notice, 

 giving a formal list of the 104 species collected and notes on a fe^v others 

 observed but not taken. 



A list of the specimens secured of each species is given, with the date 

 and locality of capture, with, in some cases, quite extended notes on their 

 habits and history as Bahama birds. There is some critical comment on 

 a number of the species, particularly of the genus Geot/tlypsis, but his 

 remarks are not especially convincing to those who have reached opposite 

 conclusions through better facilities for investigation. He claims to 

 have added four species to the Bahama list, but one of them {Nycticorax 

 ttcevius) was long since recorded by the late Dr. Northrop in an important 

 paper on 'The Birds of Andros Island, Bahamas' (Auk, VIII, 1S91, pp. 

 64-So), which Mr. Bonhote appears to have overlooked, as it is not cited 

 in his references to previous authors. The paper contains much new and 

 interesting information respecting the birds of the Bahamas and is thus 

 a most welcome contribution to the subject. — J. A. A. 



Sherborn's 'Index Animalium.' ' — Some ten or inore years ago Mr. 

 Sherborn entered upon the almost overwhelming task of compiling a list 

 of the genera and species of animals, both living and extinct. An under- 

 taking of such magnitude and importance quickly attracted the attention 

 of prominent naturalists in England, and liberal support was received 

 from the British Association, under whose auspices chiefly the work has 

 been continued. The British Museum and other libraries, appreciating 

 the exhaustive bibliographical researches involved, profited by Mr. Sher- 

 born's knowledge of books in adding to their shelves many of the works 

 not previously accessible in England. Through the intelligent coopera- 

 tion of these libraries Mr. Sherborn has been enabled to consult practi- 

 cally all of the zoological literature from 1758 to 1800, his ' lihri 

 desiderati'' consisting mainly of unimportant works. 



In view of the long time required to bring the list up to date, it was 

 thought well to place a portion of it in the hands of zoologists without 

 delay, and to this end the part dealing with names published from 175S 

 to the close of the eighteenth century was issued late in 1902. This 

 installment comprises a thick volume of over 1200 pages, containing 

 nearly 60,000 entries, of which about one twelfth relate to birds. 



' Index Animalium | sive | Index nominum quae ab A. D. MDCCLVIII | 

 Generibus et Speciebus Animalium | imposita sunt | Societatibus eruditorum 

 adiuvantibus | a | Carolo Davies Sherborn | confectus | sectio prima | a kalen- 

 dis ianuariis, MDCCLVIII | usque ad finem Decembris, MDCCC | Canta- 

 brigiae | E Typographic Academic© | MDCCCCII — Roy. Svo, pp. i-lix; i- 

 1195. Price 25 s, net. 



