Recent Ornithological Publications. 107 



through his elaborate defence of the statements and opinions 

 originally put forth by him, and controverted by Dr. Salvadori. 

 The former has, we believe, resided in the island for a great 

 many years, while the latter only visited it for a few months ; 

 but we cannot, on that account, agree with Signor Cara in hold- 

 ing cheap almost every assertion of Dr. Salvadori, who, as we 

 have good reason to know, is a very keen observer, and who ap- 

 pears to us on certain disputed points to be quite right. In 

 many cases Signor Cara seems to have taken offence at his own 

 statements being reproduced in other words by Dr. Salvadori, 

 and appears unable to brook the fact of a stranger having ven- 

 tured to write on the ornithology of what he considers to be his 

 own peculiar domain. 



5. German. 



We have already briefly noticed (Ibis, 1867, pp. 245-246) 

 Dr. Hartlaub's Introduction to the work on the Ornithology of 

 Central Polynesia, on which he and Herr Otto Finsch have been 

 for some time engaged. The book has since been completed* 

 and entirely fulfils our anticipations of it. It is one of the most 

 valuable contiibutions to our knowledge of geographical orni- 

 thology that has recently appeared, and adds largely to our still 

 imperfect acquaintance with the Polynesian Fauna. The mate- 

 rials on which it is based are chiefly furnished by the rich zoo- 

 logical collections formed for a much respected merchant of 

 Hamburg, Herr Johann Cesar Godeffroy, by Dr. E. Graffe, of 

 Zurich, in the principal islands of the Feejee and Samoan groups, 

 and in Uea, or Wallis's Island. The authors, however, have in- 

 corporated into their work all previously recorded information 

 on the same subject, and, as the titlepage shows, have likewise 

 enlarged its scope so as to include the Tonga group, which 

 has not yet been visited by Dr. Graffe, and, in fact, has been 

 little explored since the days of Cook. The result is an admi- 

 rable treatise on the avifauna of a region concerning which no 

 connected account previously existed. 



The elaborate Introduction deserves a fuller notice than we 



* Beitrag zur Fauna Centralpolynesiens. Ornitliologie der Viti-, Samoa- 

 und Touga-Inseln, vou O. Fixscu und G. IlAitTLAUB. Ilalle : 18157. 

 (Londou, Williams and Norgato.) 8vo, pp. 210. 



