504 Recenthj published Ornithological Works. 



relations of certain types are considered as deduced from the 

 study of tiieir feather-structure. For instance^ Dr. Chandler 

 believes that Cursorius is naore fittingly placed with the 

 Ardese than with the Limicolae; that the Phaethontidse are 

 more closely related to the Laridse than to the other 

 Steganopodes ; that the Galbulidse show evidence of not 

 belonging to the Pici. All these suggestions, as is certainly 

 pointed out by Dr. Chandler, are based on the study of 

 feather-structure alone and must be taken into consideration 

 with other structural characters ; but the M-hole paper is a 

 most suggestive one, and should be carefully studied by all 

 those who are interested in the morphology of the epidermal 

 structures of birds. 



Chapin on the Pennant -winged Nightjar. 



[The Pennant-winged Nightjar of Africa and its Migration. J3y 

 James P. Chapin. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. New York, xxxv. 1916, 

 pp. 73-81, map.] 



Mr. Chapin, who has been collecting for many years past 

 in the Belgian Congo, has made some interesting observations 

 on the Pennant-winged Nightjar {Cosmetornis vexillarius), 

 in which the inner primaries are enormously elongated and 

 reach two and a half times the whole length of the bird 

 itself. This extraordinary modification renders the bird 

 very conspicuous, and once seen it can never be forgotten 

 or mistaken. 



Mr. Chapin makes it clear from his own records, as well as 

 those of other observers, that this bird is found north of the 

 great equatorial forest of west and central Africa only between 

 March and July, and it is not known to breed during that 

 period. Between September and January it occurs to the 

 south of the equatorial forest, and has been recorded in 

 various localities during those months in Angola, Nyasaland, 

 and Rhodesia. 



Mr. Chapin, when in the Ituri forest, saw the birds only 

 for a short time in February and March, and again in July 

 and August, and believes that they were then on their 

 migration northwards to their " winter quarters '' and 



