2A.2 Recent Literature [fiuv 



Sharpe's Catalogue of the Fulicariae and Alectorides. 1 — In volume 

 XXIII of the British Museum 'Catalogue of Birds,' embracing the two 

 orders Fulicariae and Alectorides, Dr. Sharpe has given us a most welcome 

 contribution to systematic ornithology- The subject is treated with his 

 usual ability and care, and of course after the stereotyped method of 

 former volumes of this invaluable series. The family Rallida: is con- 

 sidered as consisting of 1S7 species, distributed among 61 genera (the 

 latter including several now extinct). The other families are compara- 

 tively small, numbering collectively 65 species, of which 30 belong to the 

 family of the Bustards (Otidida-) ami 19 to the Cranes (Gruidse). 



A feature of the volume is the large number of recently new generic 

 names introduced, proposed and first published mainly within the year 

 1S93 by Mr. Sharpe in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 

 In addition to these (10 in the family Rallidse alone) various groups 

 usually treated as subgenera arc here raised to full generic rank. Among 

 the latter, as regards North American birds, are Cotumicops Bon. 

 (recently 'emended' into Ortygops), and Crecisctts Cab. Limnogeranus 

 appears as a new generic name for our Whooping Crane, while Ionomis 

 Reichen. is treated as a synonym of Porpliyrula Blyth, our Purple Galli- 

 nule thus standing as Porpliyrula marlinica. As regards species and 

 subspecies, Rallus beldi7igi is considered as a subspecies of R. elegaus; 

 R. scottii is made a synonym of R. saturatus, the latter, together with 

 crepitans and obsoletits, being treated as subspecies of R. longirostris. 

 Of forms extra-limital to the A. O. U. Check-List, R. coryt is made a 

 synonym of caribceus, the latter also standing as a subspecies of the 

 longirostris group. We infer from this that Mr. Sharpe has never seen 

 R. coryi (his three specimens of caribceus arc recorded as from Jamaica). 

 R. longirostris cubanus Chapman is entered in the 'Addenda,' and in the 

 'Systematic Index,' as a subspecies of longirostris, as described. A 

 closely related South American form of R. virginianus is separated spe- 

 cifically (and figured) as R. oequatorialis. All of the American forms of 

 Gallinula being referred to G. galeata, the habitat of this species is given 

 as "the greater part of the New World," while, following Stejneger, G. 

 sand-wichensis is also recorded as a subspecies of galeata. The Andean 

 G. garniani is considered as "a fairly distinguishable race," but, it is 

 added, "if the Chilian ami Bolivian bird is recognized as a race, the West 

 Indian bird will have to be admitted as a subspecies also." As a matter 

 of fact, however, the differences presented by the latter are trivial in com- 



'Catalogue | of the | Fulicariae | (Rallidae and Heliornithidae) | and | Alectorides 

 I (Aramidae, Eurypygida-, Mesitidae, Rhinochetidse, | Gruidae, PsophiidnL-, and 

 Otidida-) | in the | Collection | of the | British Museum. | By | R. Bowdler Sharpe. | 

 London : I Printed by order of the Trustees. | Sold by | Longmans & Co., 39 

 Paternoster Row; | B. Quaritch, 15 Piccadilly; Dulau & Co., 37 Soho Square, W. ; | 

 Kegan Paul & Co., Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road; | and at the | British 

 Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, S. W. | 1894. = Catalogue of the Birds 

 in the British Museum, Vol. XXIII. 8vo., pp. i-xiii, 1-353, P 11 - i _ix - 



