Recently published Ornithological Works. 449 



which has held monthly meetings for the past two years, and 

 has apparently enjoyed many profitable discussions. The 

 present pamphlet gives an abstract of their " proceedings/^ 

 many of the papers alluded to haviug been published in 

 various journals. They relate exclusively to North-American 

 birds, and especially to observations on migration. 



69. DeyroUe on the Birds of France. 



[Ilistoire Naturelle de la France. Sine Partie, Oiseaux. Par Emile 

 Deyrolle. Paris, 8vo (undated).] 



This is one of a series of cheap works for beginners 

 published by the well-known dealer in objects of natural 

 history. The arrangement is antiquated, to say the least 

 of it ; for instance, the " groupe des Merles " is made up of 

 the Dipper, Rose-coloured Starling, Golden Oriole, the five 

 common species of Thrush, the two Rock-Thrushes, and the 

 Starling, in the above-given sequence. The Nightjar, Swal- 

 lows, and Swifts form the ''groupe des Becs-fendus ; ""^ while 

 the " famille des Palmipedes " is the most heterogeneous that 

 can be imagined. There are 132 woodcuts, of which some 

 appear to be original, such as the rejn'esentation of the 

 Fidmar (for the Stormy Petrel) ; and 27 very fair coloured 

 plates of the heads of most of the species. The letterpress 

 does not contain so much erroneous information respecting 

 geographical distribution as might have been expected. 



70. Distant' s ' Naturalist in the Transvaal' 



[A Naturalist in the Transvaal. By W. L. Distant. 8vo. London : 

 189i>. R. H. Porter.] 



In this volume we have recorded the impressions of a 

 naturalist who, during a year's sojourn in the Transvaal for 

 business purposes, recreated himself by collecting zoological 

 specimens and making observations. The Transvaal has, as 

 we all know, been flooded by a rush of gold-seekers, and is 

 being rapidly " Europeanized.^^ The native mammals, espe- 

 cially those of larger dimensions, are gradually disappearing; 

 but there is still much to be done in entomology, in which 



SEll. VI. VOL. IV. 2 G 



