456 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



heavily wooded. The characteristic features of the avifauna 

 are then pointed out, and a series of tables given, showing 

 the residents, summer migrants, and visitants. A full Bibli- 

 ography follows. 



The systematic portion of the present volume begins with 

 the Passeres, that most inconvenient and unnecessary system 

 of beginning at the wrong end, so dear to our American 

 friends, being on this occasion ignored. The other higher 

 groups down to the end of the Columbae follow. 



94. Sharpe's Catalogue of the Sturniformes and Abnormal 

 Passeres. 



[Catalogue of the Passerifornies, or Perching Birds, in the Collection of 

 the British Museum. Sturniformes, containing the Families Artamidae, 

 Stumidae, Ploceidae, Alaudidae, also the Families Atrichiidae and Menu- 

 ridas. By P. Bowdler Sharpe. London : 1890.] 



The issue of the 13th volume of the Catalogue of Birds 

 renders the account of the great Order Passeres complete 

 (see above, p. 388). As regards species, the Passeres are 

 usually supposed to be equally numerous with, or perhaps 

 slightly more numerous than, all the other Orders of Birds 

 put together. According to the views of the authors of the 

 thirteen volumes in which they are catalogued, about 6480 

 species of Passeres are at present known. We shall probably 

 not be far wrong, therefore, if we give the total number of 

 species of Birds to be catalogued as 13,000. But we doubt 

 whether twenty-six volumes (i. e. twice the number assigned 

 to the Passeres) will be sufficient for this purpose ; perhaps 

 twenty-nine or thirty will be nearer the mark. 



In the present volume we have an account of 601 species 

 and subspecies, belonging to the families Artamidae, Sturnidae, 

 Ploceidae, Alaudidae, Atrichiidae, and Menuridae. Of these 

 only 58 (25 of which are of doubtful value) are unrepresented 

 in the British Museum. The number of specimens illus- 

 trative of these families reaches the total of 11,699. 



Two genera only are recognized in the Artamidae — Artamus, 

 with 17 species, and the curious ^Ethiopian monotype Pseudo- 

 chelidon, which, in our opinion, should rather constitute a 

 family by itself. 



