250 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



Eleven species and subspecies are, so far as is yet known, 

 believed to be peculiar to Alaska, of which six are Passeres 

 {Parus atricapillus turneri, Troglodytes alascensis, Leuco- 

 sticte griseonucha, Plectrophenax hyperboreus, Melospiza 

 cinerea, and Perisoreus canadensis fumifrons) , two are local 

 forms of Ptarmigan {Lagopus rupestris nelsoni and L. r. at- 

 kensis), and the three others are respectively a Sandpiper, a 

 Tei'n, and a, Vetrel {Tringa ptilocneniis, Sterna aleutica, and 

 (Estrelata fischeri) . The Sandpiper, which visits the Fur- 

 seal Islands in summer for breeding-purposes, will doubtless 

 turn up elsewhere ; the Petrel, based on a single specimen 

 we believe, requires further examination. 



The main portion of the work which follows the intro- 

 duction consists of nearly 200 pages, and gives copious and 

 excellent notes on all the known species of Alaskan birds, in 

 the systematic order of the A. O. U. Check-list. Counting 

 subspecies, they appear to be 260 in number, of which 78 are 

 Passeres, showing how greatly this group, which in tropical 

 and temperate regions generally makes up more than half 

 the avifauna, falls off in numbers in the extreme north. 

 Twelve coloured plates illustrate the work, amongst which 

 we may call special attention to that of the Pectoral Sand- 

 piper, showing the extraordinary way in which the male bird 

 inflates its throat in the love-season, and that of Numenius 

 tahitiensis, a third species of Curlew, which has noAv occurred 

 twice in Arctic America. 



We have already {supra, p. 143) given the results of the 

 author's observations upon Falco gyrfalco. It is surprising 

 to find that the Great Belted Kingfisher [Ceryle alcyon) 

 goes as far north as Norton Sound and the Arctic Ocean 

 shores, where specimens were obtained from the district 

 between the Mackenzie and Anderson Rivers. 



A useful Bibliography of Alaskan ornithology concludes 

 this valuable memoir. 



58. Pleske^s Revision of the Ornis of Turkestan. 



[Revision der Turkestanischen Ornis. Nacli Sammlungen des ver- 

 storbenen Conservators Valerian Russow, verfasst von Theodor Pleske. 

 Mem. I'Acad. Imp. Sci. St. P^tersb. s6r. 7, xxxvi. no. 3, 1^88]. 



