182 Recent Literature. 



The female in first plumage I have not seen, but two young females 

 before me, which have nearly perfected their autumnal plumage, have 

 each a well-defined mustache, — not black, however, as in the male of any 

 age, but of a dark plumbeous color. Upon raising the feathers, many of 

 them are found to be nearly black at their bases, and a few entirely black 

 ones appear. I have seen two other females, both young birds in imper- 

 fect autumnal dress, which had similar dark mustaches. It seems not 

 unlikely that many females of this species may in first plumage be marked 

 nearly like the males. 



Elliot's Keview of the Ibidin^e, or Ibises. — During the past year 

 three important papers have appeared relating to different groups of the He- 

 rodiones. In June, 1877, Mr. D. G. Elliot published a paper on the Ibises,* 

 Dr. Ant. Reichenow has reviewed the whole group of Herodiones, and 

 later Mr. Ridgway has written about some of the American species. Mr. 

 Elliot treats the Ibises and Spoonbills as subfamilies of one family, for 

 which he adopts the name Ihididce. After a short resume of the literature 

 of the subject he gives a key to the nineteen genera (three being new), 

 among which he distributes his twenty-five species. Then follows a sys- 

 tematic review of the species, with their principal synonymy, and various 

 critical and descriptive remarks, with generally a short account of their 

 habits and geographical distribution. The genus Ihis is very properly re- 

 stricted to embrace only the Sacred Ibis of the Egyptians and a few other 

 allied species. Falcinelliis is employed as the generic designation for 

 the Glossy Ibis and its allies. Of this group four species are recognized, 

 three of which {F. guarauna, F. ridgwayi, and F. thalassinus) are exclu- 

 sively American, the other (F. ignetis) being " cosmopolitan," and repre- 

 sented with us by the " Ihis ordii " of Bonaparte and most American 

 writers. The generic name Ibis being untenable for any of the New 

 World species, Eudocimus (Wagler, 1832) is taken as the only generic 

 name applicable to our White and Scarlet Ibises. — J. A. A. 



Ridgway's Studies of the American Herodiones. — The first t of 

 the series of papers here begun deals mainly with the Ardeidce and Cico- 



* Review of the Ibidin*, or Subfamily of the Ibises. By D. G. Elliot, F. R. 

 S. E., F. L. S., etc. etc. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877, pp. 477-510, PL LI. 



t Studies of the American Herodiones. Part I. — Synopsis of the American 

 genera of Ardeidce and Ciconiidce ; including descriptions of three new genera, 

 and a monograph of the American species of the genus Ardca. By Robert 

 Ridgway. Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey, Vol. IV, pp. 219-251, February 

 5, 1878. 



