86 Recent Literature. 



2. Never mention the less common species, without stating date and lo- 

 cality of capture, and name of" collector. 



3. Always give the authority for all statements which you are not per- 

 sonally responsible for. 



4. Never trust to the identification (much less mere opinion) of an inex- 

 perienced collector, but make it a rule to see for yourself, and fully iden- 

 tify each species. If the slightest doubt remains concerning the identity 

 of a bird, it is far better to send it at once to some acknowledged authority 

 than run the risk of error. — C. H. M. 



Barrows's "Catalogue of the AlcidvE." — Of the twenty -one species 

 of Alcidce recognized by Mr. Barrows,* nine appear to be unrepresented in 

 the Society's collection ; of the remaining twelve short original descriptions 

 are given, sufficiently detailed for the easy recognition of the species. Mr. 

 Barrows does not think the family can be subdivided into groups of a 

 higher than generic value. The true affinities of the species he believes 

 can only be determined by a thorough study of their embryological devel- 

 opment. The character of this paper indicates that in Mr. Barrows we 

 have a valuable accession to our corps of ornithological students. — J. A. A. 



Feilden's " List of Birds observed in Smith Sound," etct — In 

 this list Captain Feilden, R. A., enumerates twenty-four species observed 

 by the recent British Arctic Expedition " in Smith Sound and northward, 

 between the seventy-eighth and eighty-third degrees of north latitude," 

 all of which are well-known Ai'ctic forms. The laud birds are Falco can- 

 dicans, Nyctea scandiaca, Phctroplianes nivalis, Corvus corax, and Lagopus 

 rupestris. The waders embrace Strepsilas interpres, u:^gialitis hiaticula, 

 Calidris arenaria, Phalaropus fulicaria, and Tringa canuta. The swim- 

 ming birds include Sterna macrura, Pagophila ehurnea, Rissa tridactyla, 

 Larus glancus, Stercorarius longicaudatus, Procellaria glacialis, Uria grylle, 

 Mergidus alle, Alca bruennichi, Golymhus {septentrionalis ?), Harelda glacia- 

 lis, Somateria mollissima, S. spectabilis, and Bernicla brenta. Most of 

 them were repeatedly met with at different localities, some of them in 

 considerable numbers, and many were observed breeding. The quite de- 

 tailed notes respecting the sjiecies of this list render it a paper of unusual 

 interest. — J. A. A. 



* Catalogue of the Alcidae contained in Museum of the Boston Society ot 

 Natural History, with a review and proposed classification of the Family. By 

 W. B. Barrows. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XIX, pp. 150-165, No- 

 vember, 1877. 



t List of Birds observed in Smith Sound, and in the Polar Basin during the 

 Arctic Expedition of 1875-76. By H. W. Feilden. Ibis, Fourth Series, Vol. 

 I, pp. 401 - 412, October, 1877. 



