Recently published Ornitholotjical Works. 391 



48. McGregor s ' Manual uf Philippine Birds.' 



[A Mauual of riiilippiiie r>irds. J'.y Kicliard 0. McGregor. Parti. 

 Ciallifonnes to Euryheiuifornies. Manila, 1900. 8vo, 412 pp.] 



Much has been written about the attractive Avifauna of 

 the Philippine Archipelago, and from time to time several 

 Lists of the species l)elongiiig to it have been published. 

 But this is the first attempt at a regular account of it 

 accompanied by descriptions, and is the more valuable as the 

 literature of the subject is widely scattered over various 

 periodicals, some of which are not easy of access. The work 

 is based mainly upon the Collection of Birds belonging to 

 the Bureau of Science of Manila, which contains about 

 8000 specimens. 



The general arrangement followed is that of Sharpe's 

 ' Hand-list/ and, like that work, it begins with the lower 

 forms of Bird-life. The present part contains an account of 

 the Orders from the Galliformes up to the Enrylsemifoimes, 

 and treats of 378 species. We observe with some satis- 

 faction that the author is a strict Binomialist, and does not 

 find it necessary to employ three names for a species in any 

 case. 



The Philippine Ornis is eminently worthy of study, because 

 ii presents a curious mixture of Oriental and Palaiarctic 

 forms, and because it contains numerous instances of 

 representative species in the various Islands which belong- 

 to it. Ou these points, however, we will defer further 

 remarks until the issue of the second portion of the work, 

 which, we believe, is nearly ready. 



49. Matheivs on the Birds of Australia. 



[Tlie Birds of Australia. By Gregory M. Mathews. With hand- 

 culoured plates. Vol. i. pt. 2. London : Jan. 3ist, 1911. Witherby & Oo.] 



The second part of this new work does not lend itself to a 

 lengthy review, as, besides Fedionuiaus, it only compiises the 

 Pigeons of the families Treronidoi and Colunibidce. But we 

 may remark that the tine plates are quite up to the standard 

 set in the beginning, and are again from the pencil of" 

 Keulemans. The letterpress can hardly be expected to 

 contain much new information about these birds, yet 



