352 Recent Literature. [f^ 



inconsistent rulings as to forms admitted or rejected. It is to be remem- 

 bered, however, that the work was begun before subspecies had obtained 

 general recognition, and before the 1758 edition of Linnaeus had come to 

 be so generally recognized as the proper date for the beginning of zoological 

 nomenclature. 



The method of treatment is briefly as follows: The principal bibliographi- 

 cal references and synonymy are cited for the species and genera; the dis- 

 tinctive characteristics of the genera are given, with a general statement 

 respecting the number and distribution of the species; a Latin diagnosis 

 or description is given of each species, followed by a brief statement of 

 its distribution, and remarks on the general history of the species, its affini- 

 ties and distinctive features, its geographical distribution, and often more 

 or less is said about its haunts and habits, based largely on original field 

 observations. The 'Introduction' (Vol. I, pp. v-xliv) gives a general 

 history of the work; the limits of the region treated; the material on which 

 the work is based and how and where it was collected; the faunal relations 

 and characteristics of the region; a list of Mr. Salvin's more important 

 papers on the birds of Central America; and tables of distribution for the 

 families and species of the birds of Mexico and Central America (pp. xi- 

 xxxvii). 



While later works on the avifauna of the region here treated may super- 

 cede the 'Aves' of the 'Biologia,' from the points of view of nomenclature 

 and classification, it will ever remain a classic in the ornithological litera- 

 ture of 'Middle America,' and an enduring monument to its authors. — 

 J. A. A. 



Proceedings of the Fourth International Ornithological Congress. 1 — 



The Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress, held in London, 

 June, 1905, forms a volume of nearly 700 pages, illustrated with eighteen 

 plates, seven of them colored. A 'Record of Proceedings,' occupying 

 pp. 9-89, is followed by the President's Address, by Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, 

 and thirty-eight papers read before the Congress. The 'Record of Pro- 

 ceedings ' is not only a record of the meetings and excursions, but includes 

 a summary of the discussions on the papers read. 



The President's address (pp. 90-143) is an account of the origin and 

 history of the Bird Collection in the British Museum. This is followed by 

 a paper on 'What constitutes a Museum Collection of Birds?' (pp. 144- 

 156), by Frank M. Chapman. Tins is practically an account of the orni- 



1 Proceedings | of the | Fourth International | Ornithological Congress | London 

 June, 1905 | forming | Volume XIV of the "Ornis" | Edited | under the direction 

 of the President: | R. Bowdler Sharpe, LL. D., | by | The Secretaries: | Ernest J. 

 O. Hartert, Ph.D., and J. Lewis Bonhote, M. A. | With Eighteen Plates. | London: 

 | Dulau & Co., | 37, Soho Square, W. | February, 1907. Large 8vo, pp. 1-696, pll. 

 i-xviii, 7 colored. February, 1907. 



