Recent Litcratuye. 



411 



of nearly 900 pages, with 16 colored plates. Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe. the 

 indefatigable custodian of the unrivalled collection of birds in the British 

 Museum, has attempted the herculean task of describing and arranging in 

 due systematic sequence the species of the immense family Fringillidw, 

 numbering, according to Mr. Sharpe's reckoning, 559 species. All but 30 

 of these are represented in the collection under his charge, which in- 

 cludes " the types of no less than 125 species," and 9443 specimens. With 

 such rich material at his command, including many additional specimens 

 loaned to him for use in the preparation of his great work, he still ex- 

 presses himself as unable to arrive at satisfactory conclusions respecting 

 " the value of the various subspecies and varietal forms found in North 

 America." With the acquisition of the Henshaw Collection of North 

 American birds, recently purchased by the British Museum, doubtless 

 Mr. Sharpe will be able to settle, at least to his own satisfaction, many of 

 these doubtful points, on which it is to be hoped he will soon give us his 

 revised opinions, whatever they may prove to be. 



Respecting the relation of the Finches and Tanagers, Mr. Sharpe ob 

 serves: "The line of demarcation between the families Fringillidos and 

 TanagridiE seems to be an extremely arbitrary one, and many genera 

 included by m.e as Finches are just as likely Tanagers, if there is really a 

 definable character for the separation of the two families. Some dis- 

 tinctive characters may ultimately be discovered in the anatomy of the 

 FringillidcB and Tanagridce which will serve to separate them ; but at 

 present the whole classification of these birds is highly unsatisfactory" — 

 an opinion we believe to be widely shared by other ornithologists. Re- 

 specting genera and higher divisions Mr. Sharpe says: "No one as yet 

 has propounded a satisfactory classification of the Fringillidce, the diffi- 

 culty consisting in the complete connection which exists between the 

 various Finches and Buntings. Any one who has worked upon a large 

 fragment of the family must acknowledge that the definition of the genera 

 is difficult and the recognition of subfamilies almost impossible. The 

 FringillidcB naturally group themselves into three divisions — Grosbeaks, 

 Finches, and Buntings; but numerous forms connect them, being refera- 

 ble to the confines of any of the three groups." He deems it possible, 

 however, that their osteology and general anatomy, when fully examined, 

 may afford additional generic characters. 



In general character the present volume, in respect to methods of 

 treatment and principles of nomenclature, is so strictly similar to other 

 volumes of this series by Mr. Sharpe, already noticed at length in this 

 journal, that nothing further on these points need be said. We notice 

 that 4 genera, 13 species, and 11 subspecies are" characterized as new or 

 renamed, as follows: Genera: (i) Rhodospiza, gen. nov ; type and 

 sole species Fringilla obsoleta Licht. (2) Psetidochloris = Orosfiza 

 Cab., 1883, «ec Kaup. 1829. (3) Sckisiospiza, gen. nov.; ty^e Embefiza 

 griseocristata D'Orb. & Lafr. (4) R/iodospingus, gen. nov. ; type Tiaris 

 cruenta Less. — Species: (i) Spermophila albitoyquis, sp. nov., ex 

 Mexico — •' similar to 6". torqueola.''' (2) Amatirospiza cequatorialis, sn. 



