iSSS.] Recant Literature. I07 



made bv him in the island of Kauai, Hawaiian Archipelago, enable Dr. 

 Stejneger to give a very full account of the ornithology of a hitherto 

 little-known and exceedingly interesting region. Besides the full synony- 

 my and copious technical annotations, one genus and six species are 

 described as new, as follows: (i) Gallinula galeata sajidviceiisis, (2) 

 Himaiitopus kiiu(ho)ii, (3) Chasiemfsis dolei, (4) Phceornis myiadestina, 

 (5) Ht7natio)ie parva, and (6) Oreomyza (gen. nov.) bairdi. 



In a later paper* he adds to the \\%\. Psittirostra fsittacca, two specimens 

 of which are described, and the question is raised as to whether there may 

 not be two species of Psittirostra in the Sandwich Islands, in view of 

 Temminck's description and figure diftering from the specimens here 

 described, etc. — J. A. A. 



Stejneger on Birds of the Commander Islands. f — Additional material 

 received at the National Museum since the publication of his 'Results of 

 Ornithological Explorations in Kamtschatka and the Commander Islands' 

 has led Dr. Stejneger to prepare the present 'Catalogue,' the 'conclusions' 

 to be drawn from this further consideration of the subject being reserved 

 for a subsequent paper. Considerable space is given to a discussion of the 

 status of Lams sc/iistisagns and its relationship to L. affinis, with the 

 conclusion that the two species are unquestionably distinct. Under Ster- 

 corarius parasiticus the probable moulting of the 'nasal cuirass' in the 

 Stercorarii is considered, the indication being that "the process of shed- 

 ding is as regular in the Stercorarii as in the Puffins." 



Under .^gialitis mongola several pages are devoted to showing that 

 ^:S. pyrrhothorax is a synonym of ^^. mongola. There are also extended 

 technical notes on Actodromas couesi, Litnosa limosa melaiiiir aides, Nu- 

 menins cyanopiis, Falco rusticolits, and fButalis griscisticta. In all 143 

 species are commented upon. — J. A. A. 



Stejneger on Palaearctic Bullfinches. — In a paperj of seven pages Dr. 

 Stejneger reviews the species of Pyrrhttla, treating of the following: 

 (i) P. cassint (the type specimen of which is affirmed to be a female 

 instead of a male), later named P. cineracea by Cabanis; (2) Pyrrliiila 

 pyrrhitla, or common European Bullfinch, which is divided into the two 

 subspecies, europcsa (Vieill.) and kamtschatica (Tacz.) ; (3) P. grisei- 

 ventris; and (4) P. kurilensis. Their synonymy is given, and a consid- 

 erable series of specimens oi P. griseiventris is described and discussed, 

 with the result of dismissing P. rosacea Seebohm as a pure synonym of 

 P. griseiventris, in agreement with Blakiston and Jouy. — J. A. A. 



*^o\es on Psittirostra ps-iftacea hom. Kauai, Hawaiian Islands. Proc. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., 1887, pp. 389, 390 (Nov. 3, 1887.) 



t Contributions to the Natural History of the Commander Islands. No. 7. — Revised 

 and Annotated Catalogue of the Birds inhabiting the Commander Islands. Proc. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus., 1887, pp. 1 17-145 with three plates (July 2, 1887). 



t Notes on the Northern l>ala;arctic Bullfinches. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1887, pp. 

 103- no (July 2, 1887). 



