Becently published Ornithological Works. 177 



24. Schalow on the Birds of the Aleutian and Kurile Islands. 



[J. F. von Brandt : Ueber die Vogelfauna der Aleuten, Kurilen und der 

 russisch-amerikanisclien Colonien. Nach hiuterlasseuen Notizen heraus- 

 gegeben vou Ilei'man Sclialow. J. f. 0. 1891, p. 235.] 



Among the MSS. of the late distinguished naturalist, Dr. J. 

 F. von Brandt^ of St. Petersburg, has been found an un- 

 finished memoir on the birds of the " Aleutian and Kurile 

 Islands and Russian America/^ which was begun in 1849, 

 and was intended to have been published in Russian and 

 accompanied by illustrations. Ilerr Schalow now gives us 

 portions of the introduction to this interesting work, together 

 with the list of the birds and Brandt's notes written in Latin, 

 to which in some cases he adds critical remarks. So much 

 has been done by American and other writers on the orni- 

 thology of both sides of Behring's Sea during the past twenty 

 years that there is little, if any, novelty in Brandt's obser- 

 vations, although some of the localities may have been 

 hitherto unrecorded. As the Editor allows, it would have 

 been very desirable in some cases to have been able to consult 

 the specimeus in the St. Petersburg Museum upon which 

 Brandt based his remarks. 



25. Shufeldt on the Classification of the Columba. 



[Notes on the Classification of the Pigeons. By E. W. Shufeldt. Amer. 

 Nat. 1891, p. 157.] 



Dr. Shufeldt has recently examined skeletons of species of 

 nearly all the genera of the American Pigeons, and has come 

 to the conclusion that Coues's proposed division of the Colum- 

 bidse into three subfamilies — Columbinse, Zenaidinae, and 

 Starncenadinse — cannot be maintained. From osteological 

 characters two subfamilies only are recognizable — Columbiuie 

 and Staruoenadinae, the latter containing only the genus 

 Starncenos. We quite agree to this, and may moreover add 

 that, unless we are much mistaken. Dr. Shufeldt will find on 

 examination of the Old-World Columbie that Starnoenas has 

 some near relatives amongst tliem. 



SEIl. VI. VOL. IV. N 



