V "g XI ~| Recent Literature. 1 69 



Ridgway on a Small Collection of Costa Rican Birds.' — -The collection 

 consists of 10 species of little-known birds, which are here further 

 described from specimens submitted for examination by the authorities of 

 the Costa Rica National Museum. Several of them are species recently 

 characterized by Mr. Ridgway and Mr. Cherrie, and one is here described 

 as new, namely "B/it/ira/epis cceruleigularis Cherrie, sp. nov." The 

 status of Tackyphonus rubrifrons Lawr. is considered, Antrostomus rufo- 

 maculatus Ridgw. is referred to A. saturattts Salvin, and considerable 

 additional material relating to a number of other species is described, 

 particularly Platypsaris aglaice Ridgw. and Scytalopus argcntifrons 

 Ridgw.— J. A. A. 



Ridgway on a Collection of Birds from Alaska. 2 — This is a briefly anno- 

 tated list of 35 species, collected by Mr. C. H. Townsend at Kodiak, the 

 Shumagins, and other points along the Alaskan coast, principally in 

 August, 1S8S. The notes give simply the localities and dates of the 

 specimens collected, with in addition a description of the first plumage of 

 the Western Winter Wren {Troglodytes hiemalis pacificus). — J. A. A. 



Ridgway on a New Storm Petrel. :! — The Storm Petrel heretofore known 

 as Oceanodroma melai/ia (Bon.) is here renamed Oceanodroma tozvn- 

 setidi, as "a series of nine finely prepared skins of this species, collected by 

 Mr. C. H. Townsend off Guaymas and Acapulco, Mexico, proves," says 

 Mr. Ridgway, "that this bird cannot be the Thalassidroma melania of 

 Bonaparte, neither the dimensions nor the coloration agreeing at all 

 closely with the latter." The habitat is given as "off coast of Mexico, 

 north to Cape St. Lucas and Guaymas." The specimen (No. 13.025) 

 selected as type was taken at Cape St. Lucas many years since by Mr. J. 

 Xantus. The date of capture of none of the specimens is here given. — 

 J. A. A. 



Ridgway on the Genus Formicarius. 4 — This revision of the difficult 

 and little-known genus Formicarius is based on a "series of nearly sixty 

 specimens," which serves to make quite clear a number of doubtful 



1 On a small Collection of Birds from Costa Rica. By Robert Ridgway. Proc. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus., XVI, 1893, pp. 609-614. 



2 Catalogue of a Collection of Birds made in Alaska by Mr. C. H. Townsend during 

 the Cruise of the U. S. Fish Commission Steamer Albatross, in the Summer and 

 Autumn of 188S. By Robert Ridgway. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XVI, 1893, pp. 

 663-665. 



:i Description of a New Storm Petrel from the Coast of Western Mexico. By 

 Robert Ridgway. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XVI, 1893, pp. 687, 688. 



4 A Revision of the genus Formicarius Boddaert. By Robert Ridgway. Proc. U. S. 

 ' Nat. Mus. XVI, 1893, pp. 667-686. 



