470 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



Museum gives a list of ])ircls collected by Dr. V. Pietsclimaim 

 and Selira Hassoun^ mainly from the neighbourhood of 

 Mosul. No new species are described, but the paper is 

 accompanied by a very interesting photograph of the nest- 

 lioles of Merops persicus. These are found in extraordinary 

 abundance on the flat dry surface of the desert at Es Scheriat 

 el Beda, near Bagdad, and in other localities. 



The other papers deal with a large and important collection 

 of birds made by Rudolf Grauer in the lake districts of 

 Central Africa, during the period December 1909 to February 

 3911. 



Some of Grauer's collections have gone to Tring and some 

 were acquired by the Duke of Mecklenburg during his first 

 journey through the lake districts, and both Dr. Ilartert and 

 Dr. Reichenow have described some very interesting new 

 species from these earlier collections. 



In the paper now before us only the non-passerine portion 

 of the Vienna collection is described. The number of species 

 listed is 193, and Columha albinucha, Asio abessinicus graueri, 

 and Cercococcyx ulivinus are described as new, the first- 

 named being figured on a coloured plate. 



Dr. Grauer's route started at Bukoba on the western side 

 of the Victoria Nyanza, whence he proceeded to the northern 

 end of Lake Tanganyika. Thence he turned to the north to 

 Lakes Kivu and Albert Edward, and to the L'umu and 

 other localities in the Congo Forest west of Lake Albert 

 Edward. 



Stone on Colour-Characters. 



[The Phylogenetic Value of Colour-Characters in Birds. By Witmer 

 Stone, A.M. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. xv. 1912, pp. 313-319, 

 pi. xxvii.] 



Mr. Witmer Stone believes that colour-pattern among 

 birds is often a very fundamental characteristic, and that by 

 means of it the phylogeny of a groui^ can be much more 

 easily traced than by the so-called structural characters of 

 the size and shape of the beak and the position of the 

 nostril. 



