Recently published Ornithological Works. 447 



among other genera of the Larinse, and is perhaps not a little 

 remarkable in its relation to the phalanx. I found this 

 almost central position occupied by the nail in all the speci- 

 mens examined. In one the nail was longer than in the 

 others^ and consequently extended nearly to the apex of the 

 digit. 



A question implying important alternatives remains un- 

 answeredj as the result of the incompleteness of our know- 

 ledge relating to the nail on the hallux of this species, 

 namely — (1) Is the possession of this nail an individual pecu- 

 liarity, or (2) do all Kittiwakes possess such a nail during 

 some period of their early life ? 



The former is most probably the case. The latter is, 

 perhaps, joo6?52^/e, but its acceptance implies-.-from the ascer- 

 tained facts — that this nail is developed very late in em- 

 bryonic life, and that it disappears early in most cases. 



A pleasant duty now remains, namely, to express my 

 obligations and thanks. To my friend Dr. Carlier, of the 

 Physiological Department of the University of Edinburgh, 

 I am indebted for mucli assistance, which it affords me 

 great pleasure to acknowledge. My thanks are also due 

 and hereby accorded to the friends severally named in these 

 notes, and to Mr. Herbert Goodchild, of Edinburgh, who 

 kindly prepared the finished drawings from which the figures 

 have been reproduced. 



XXXVIII. — Notices of recent Oi-nithological Publications. 



[Continued from p. 345.] 



66. Berlepsch on the Birds of Curac^ao, W.I. 



[Die Vogel der Insel Curasao, nacli einer von Herrn cand. tlieol. Ernst 

 Peters daselbst angelegten Sammlung. J. f. O. January 1892.] 



Insular faunas, however small their area, are, as Darwin 

 and Wallace teach us, always worthy of careful examination ; 

 and we are therefore deeply grateful to Graf v. Berlepsch for 

 this excellent essay on what is known of the birds of Curafao 

 and its satellites, Buen Ayre and Oruba. The immediate 

 occasion of the present paper was the receipt of a collection of 



