128 Recent Ornithological Publications. 



is expected soon to appear, and is to form, it would seem (but of 

 this we are not sure), the Fourth Volume of Von der Decken's 

 ' Travels.' It is manifest that with the space now at our com- 

 mand we should be doing positive injustice to the erudition of 

 these four distinguished ornithologists by attempting any off- 

 hand criticisms. We limit ourselves here to recording the con- 

 summation, so far, of their labours ; and we do this with greater 

 contentment because we have good hope of shortly devoting an 

 article especially to the consideration of them, which we trust 

 will bring the whole subject of the ornithology of these interest- 

 ing parts of Africa before our readers in a connected form. 



It is proverbial that " great events from little causes spring;" 

 and we have an example of the saying's truth now before us. 

 Who would have thought that a direct consequence of the meet- 

 ing of certain armed inen one ^jHie day some three years ago in 

 or around a hitherto obscure Bohemian village would be an 

 event so remarkable as the publication of a ' Vogel-Fauna von 

 Norddeutschland'*? Yet such seems to l)e the case. The battle 

 of Sadowa established a North-German Confederation, and a 

 necessary product thereof is a book on the birds of the territory 

 of that confederation ! Dr. Borggreve appears to have performed 

 his task with the usual conscientiousness of his fellow-counti'y- 

 men ; and his introductory observations (especially those on 

 the interesting subject of the geographical distribution of birds 

 within North-German limits) merit the fullest attention of those 

 who are engaged in European ornithology. 



The work of Baron Droste on the birds of the Isle of Borkumf 



* Die Vogel-Fauua von Norddeutscliland. Eine kritische Musterung 

 der em-opaischen Vogel-Arten nach dem Gesichtspunkte ihrer Verbrei- 

 tung iiber das nordliche Deutschland. Unter Benutzung der einschla- 

 gigen Literatur und nach eigenen Beobachtungen bearbeitet von Dr. 

 Bebnaiid Borggekve. Berlin : 1869. 8vo, pp. 157. 



t Die Vogelwelt der Nordseeinsel Borkum. Nebst einer vergleichenden 

 Uebersicht der in den siidlichen Nordseelandern vorkonimenden Vogel 

 von Ferd. Baron Droste-IIulshoff. Miinster: ]8f)9. Roy. 8vo, 

 pp. 389, 16. (Plate and Map.) 



