132 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



south end of New Guinea^ the Moluccas, Celebes, and Java, 

 and seems to have kept his well-trained powers of obser- 

 vation hard at work at these places also. Prof. Semon 

 apparently paid special attention to the Mammal-class, but 

 goes into nearly every branch of zoology, botany, geology, 

 and anthropology, not to mention politics. There are 

 numerous references to birds throughout the volume. We 

 may especially call the attention of our readers to the 

 narrative of Prof. Semon's excursion up the Gara River from 

 Milne Bay, where he met with Lories, Paradise-birds, Black 

 Cockatoos, Goura-Pigeons, and other rarities of the rich 

 avifauna of New G uinea. 



24. Sharpe on the Limicolse. 



[Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Volume XXIV. 

 Catalogue of the Limicolae in the Collection of the British Museum. 

 By R. Bowdler Shai-pe. London, 1896.] 



The twenty-fourth volume of the great Catalogue of Birds 

 is devoted to the Limicolse. It contains an account of 255 

 species of this group, which are represented in the National 

 Collection by no less than 13,440 specimens, '^ exclusive of 

 many hundreds of duplicates.'^ Only five of the recorded 

 species have no representatives in the British Museum. 



Dr. Sharpe divides the Limicolse into six families — (Edi- 

 cnemidse, Cursoriidae, Parridse, Charadriidas, Chionididae, and 

 Thinocorythidse. 



The (Edicnemidae are divided into 4 genera, which contain 

 altogether 11 species. 



The Cursoriidae are arranged in 8 genera, containing 25 

 species. Besides the Coursers, the aberrant forms of Dromas 

 and Ortyxelus are placed in this family. We agree, how- 

 ever, with Dr. Sharpe's remark that Dramas should probably 

 stand alone. 



The third family, " Parridse," contains, as here arranged, 

 7 genera and 11 species. We may remark that, as Dr. Sharpe 

 (following Dr. Stejneger) discards the Linnean term Parra 

 for the Jacanas altogether, he is not at liberty to use it for 

 the name of the family. 



