122 Recent Literature. [ j£ ^ 



in the near future to some such discovery. — S. Prescott Fay, Boston, 

 Mass. 



Number of Species and Subspecies in the New A. O. U. Check- 

 List: A Correction.— In 'The Auk' for October, 1910 (XXVII, pp. 

 468, 469), the number of species in the third edition of the A. O. U. 

 Check-List is given as 802, and the number of subspecies as 394, making 

 a total of 1196 forms. Prof. W. W. Cooke later informed me that he 

 made the numbers to be, respectively, 804, 396, 1200. A recount shows 

 Professor Cooke's numbers to be correct, namely, 804 species, 396 sub- 

 species, and 1200 forms. — J. A. A. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



Carriker on the Birds of Costa Rica. 1 — In this work of some 600 

 pages, our knowledge of Costa Rican birds is brought thoroughly up to 

 date. The author's style is pleasing and his method of treatment is 

 both modern and comprehensive. A total of 753 species and subspecies 

 is recorded, with full citations of Costa Rican references and many hither- 

 to unpublished records, based chiefly on the collections of Ridgway and 

 Zeledon, Carriker, Underwood and Lankester. 



The local distribution is well worked out and treated in more detail 

 than in any previous work. Under almost every species are interesting 

 notes on the life history, from the author's own experiences, in many cases 

 with descriptions of nest and eggs. These form an important addition 

 to our knowledge of Neotropical bird-life. Under the Tanagers and Finches 

 Mr. W. E. C. Todd has incorporated in the text many valuable critical 

 notes. Keys are given to the species of most of the lower groups as far as 

 the Cotingidse, with the evident intention of supplementing those in the 

 first four volumes of Ridgway's 'Birds of North and Middle America.' 



The 60 pages of introductory matter treat, among other subjects, of 

 "Geography and Physiography," "The Life Zones" and "History of the 

 Ornithology of Costa Rica." A Bibliography is of course included, and a 

 comprehensive descriptive list of localities at which birds have been col- 

 lected. Some general notes on the habits of both the winter visitant and 

 the resident species are also to be found here. At the end of the volume 

 is a large folding map of Costa Rica. 



» An Annotated List of the Birds of Costa Rica including Cocos Island. By 

 M. A. Carriker, Jr. Reprinted from Annals of the Carnegie Museum, Vol. VI, 

 pp. 314-915, with map. "Issued August 29, 1910." 



