138 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



way follows the * Check-list of North American Birds ' 

 issued iu 1880^ already well known to all ornithologists, the 

 additions to the North-American Avifauna made since the 

 issue of that work being interpolated in their proper places. 

 Certain extralimital species have been also introduced, but 

 these are distinguished by a peculiar type. 



The collections of North-American Birds and Eggs belong- 

 ing to the National Museum, which are stated to embrace 

 about 36,000 skins and 38,400 eggs, have naturally furnished 

 the greater part of the material for this important work, 

 which was originally projected by the late Prof. Baird, and 

 has now been elaborated and completed by one of his favourite 

 pupils, whom he had specially designated for the task. It is 

 certain that these splendid collections could not have been 

 utilized to a better purpose than for the preparation of such 

 a summary of our knowledge of North-American ornitho- 

 logy as is now before us. With such antecedents, the work 

 will, no doubt, be generally adopted in America as the 

 authorized manual of Nearctic Ornithology ; though we can 

 hardly believe that the extensive changes which (following 

 the Check-list) it proposes to effect in nomenclature will 

 find ready acceptance in other parts of the world. 



The total number of species credited to the Nearctic Avi- 

 fauna in the present work is 768, besides numerous sub- 

 sj)ecies. The generic characters are illustrated in 124 plates 

 of a diagrammatic character, which would have been of still 

 greater value had it been possible to introduce them into the 

 text. 



Four new generic terms are proposed in this work, namely, 

 Neofalco for Falco albiyularis, Daud., and F. deiroleucus, 

 Temm. ; NuttaUornis for Tyr annus borealis, Sw. ; Burrica for 

 Frinyilla mexicanu, Miill. ; and ChanKethlypis for Geothlypis 

 poliocephala, Baird. Thirty-nine species and sub-species are 

 described for the first time, namely, Ortalis vetula pallidi- 

 ventris (Yucatan) ; Oidemia [Melanetta] stejnegeri (Kamts- 

 chatka to Japan) ; Coccyzus americanus occidentalis ; Coc- 

 cyziis maynardi ; Dryobates villosus maynardi (Bahamas) ; 

 D. scalaris siaaloensis (Western Mexico) ; D. arizoncB frater- 



