458 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



83. SalvadorVs ' Catalogue of Parrots.' 



[Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots, in the Collection of the British 

 Museum. By T, Salvadori. London: 1891.] 



The twentieth volume of the ' Catalogue of the Birds in the 

 British Museum ' is devoted to the great Order of Psittaci. 

 For its preparation the Trustees are fortunate in having 

 secured the services of our distinguished Foreign Member, 

 Count Salvadori, who has devoted more than two years and 

 a half to this work. It was completed in December last, and 

 is dated 1891, though it was not actually accessible to the 

 public until the middle of last March. Like all other pieces 

 of work of our esteemed friend, the present volume deserves 

 our highest commendation for its thoroughness, completeness, 

 and accuracy. It is true, perhaps, that, as is alleged by 

 some critics, the author occasionally divides his species 

 upon somewhat fine characters, and is prone to carry his 

 division of genera to an excess. But as the grounds for 

 these separations, slight as they may be, are always clearly 

 and distinctly stated, we are of opinion that these failings, 

 if failings they be, hardly afi'ect the value of Count Salva- 

 dori^s excellent work. 



Count Salvadori divides the Psittaci into six families— 

 Nestoriche, Loriidee, Cyclopsittacidse, Cacatuidae, Psittacidae, 

 and Stringopidge. As a primary ground for the division of 

 the Order he introduces a new character, taken from the 

 structure of the bill. In the first three families the hook of 

 the upper mandible beneath is nearly smooth, or has only 

 '' superficial longitudinal ridges;'' in the last three the apex 

 of the upper mandible beneath has " two lateral series of 

 ridges, more or less transverse or oblique, producing a file- 

 like surface." 



The number of specimens of Parrots in the British Museum 

 is 5113, which are referred to 450 species, while 49 others, 

 admitted in the Catalogue, are not represented in our National 

 Collection. The total number of species of this Order recog- 

 nized is therefore 499, of which the following 14 are described 

 as new for the first time in the present volume :— 



