ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 49 



the former. For this group the super-family name Chionomorphce is pro- 

 posed. In view of some differences between Ononis alba and Chionis 

 minor that are noted as of probably supra-specific value, the new generic 

 title of Chionarchus is proposed for C. minor. — J. A. A. 



Extinct Birds with Teeth. — A few months since, Professor 0. C. 

 Marsh of New Haven described* several species of extinct birds with 

 teeth from the Cretaceous of Kansas. One of these (Ichthyornis olispar, 

 Marsh) was an aquatic bird of about the size of a pigeon. Its jaws and 

 teeth show it to have been carnivorous, and its powerful wings indicate 

 that it was capable of prolonged flight. The teeth were numerous, small, 

 compressed and pointed, set in distinct sockets, and their crowns were 

 covered with nearly smooth enamel. A second species (Ajmtornis celer, 

 Marsh) is of about the same size as the first named, but of more slender 

 proportions. Another species (Hesperornis dispar, Marsh), one of the most 

 interesting of the group with teeth yet found, was a gigantic diver. Its 

 teeth had no true sockets, but were placed in grooves and supported on 

 stout fangs. In form they somewhat resemble the teeth of the Mosasau- 

 roid reptiles, and they had the same method of replacement. 



Professor Marsh has since described t two other species of the same 

 group, both of gigantic size. One of these is named Hesperornis gracilis, 

 and the other Lestornis crassipes, the latter representing a new genus as 

 well as a new species. These interesting forms are regarded as represent- 

 ing two distinct orders (Qdontotormce and Odontolcce) of the subclass Odon- 

 tornithes (Aves dentata) or toothed birds, which combine in a peculiar 

 manner many reptilian characters with others truly avian. — J. A. A. 



" Life-Histories of the Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania." J — 

 Under this title Mr. T. G. Gentry has given the public a most welcome 

 volume of biographies of the birds of Eastern North America. The work 

 is based on the author's careful studies of the birds of Eastern Pennsyl- 

 vania, and bears strongly the stamp of originality. The general habits 

 and songs of the different species are faithfully described ; while the char- 

 acter of their nests, the manner of building, periods of incubation, the age 

 of the young on quitting the nest, etc., etc., are dwelt upon in detail ; the 

 food of each is also carefully noted. The author's style is unostentatious 

 and simple, at times lapsing into carelessness ; but the chief defect of the 

 book is its unprepossessing typographical appearance, printer's blunders 

 of every description abounding, while the paper and type are wholly un- 



* American Journ. Sci. and Arts, Nov. 1875, pp. 403-409, Plates IX, X, 

 (reprinted in Amer. Nat., Vol. IX, pp. 625-631, Plates II, III). 



t Amer. Jour. Sci. and Arts., June, 1S76, pp. 509-511. 



£ Life-Histories of the Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania. By Thomas G. Gen- 

 try, Member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and of the 

 Canadian Entomological Society of Toronto. Tn two volumes. Vol. I : Phila- 

 delphia. Published by the author, 1876. 12 mo., pp. xvi, 309. 



