384 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



■while an excellent map supplements this important con- 

 tribution. 



72. Cory on the Birds of the West Indies. 



[The Birds of the West Indies : including all Species known to occur 

 in the Bahama Islands, the Greater Antilles, the Caymans, and the Lesser 

 Antilles, excepting the Islands of Tobago and Trinidad. By Charles B. 

 Cory. 8vo. Boston, U. S. A. : 1889.] 



Mr. Cory has reprinted in the present volume the series of 

 papers which have lately appeared in ' The Auk ' upon the 

 birds of the West Indies, to the study of which, as we are 

 all awarCj he has devoted much time and attention. Mr. 

 Cory has personally made five trips to different parts of the 

 West Indies for the purpose of ornithological investigation, 

 and has also sent a number of collectors at his own expense 

 to the more important islands in order to obtain specimens 

 of their birds. 



The additions made to the West-Indian avifauna since the 

 series of papers in ' The Auk ' were published are mostly 

 given in an appendix. It would have been more convenient 

 to have found them each in its proper place, but we have, at 

 any rate, the advantage of a complete compendium of Antil- 

 lean ornithology in one handy volume. 



The synonymy of the species, so far as relates to their 

 occurrence in the West Indies, seems to be well worked out, 

 and characters are given, except in the case of well-known 

 North- American birds. There is also a good list of the 

 principal works and papers on West- Indian ornithology 

 prefaced to the volume, and a map of the islands placed at 

 the end. The only thing we miss in this otherwise excellent 

 piece of work is some sort of general essay upon West-Indian 

 ornithology and tables to show the peculiar species in each 

 different island. But the subject is, perhaj)s, not quite fully 

 ripe for this to be done very effectually ; for, notwithstanding 

 Mr. Cory's exertions, there is still much to be done before 

 we can be said to have anything like a complete knowledge 

 of West-Indian ornithology. 



