Recently published Ornithological Works. 475 



British Birds. 



[British Birds. An illustrated magazine devoted to the birds on the 

 British List. Vol. vi., June 1912-May 1913. London (Witherby).] 



With the number for May 1913 'British Birds' ter- 

 minates its sixth volume, and we may heartily congratulate 

 Mr. Witherby on his successful undertaking. The volume 

 contains a very large number of short notes on the capture 

 or observation of rare birds, and migration dates and other 

 field notes, and is invaluable for the student of British 

 bird-life. 



Two new British birds are described : one is the British 

 form of the Black Grouse, which is described by Messrs. 

 Witherby & Lonnberg under the name of Lyrurus tetrix 

 britannicus. It is only the females of the British race which 

 can be satisfactorily distinguished from the typical Swedish 

 race. These differ in several respects, the most noticeable 

 being the greater amount of rufous on the belly and under 

 tail-coverts. 



The other new subspecies is the British race of the Lesser 

 Black-backed Gull, described as Larus fuscus britcmnicus by 

 Dr. Percy B. Lowe. It differs from the Swedish race, ou 

 which Linnseus originally founded the species, in its nuich 

 lighter-coloured slaty-grey back in contrast to the slaty- 

 black back of the Swedish bird, and is quite obviously a 

 distinct race. Dr. Lowe believed that the British race was 

 undescribed when he named it, but subsequently Mr. Tom 

 Iredale (p. 360) has shewn that our British Lesser Black- 

 backed Gull is almost certainly identical with a bird 

 described by Reinhardt in 1853 from Greenlaud, and our 

 British bird will have to be known as Larus fuscus affinis. 



Mr. Parkin records the occurrence of the Terek Sandpiper 

 [Terekia cinerea) for the first time in the British Islands. 

 Four examples in all were taken iu Romney Marsh. This 

 bird breeds in northern Russia and Siberia and winters in 

 southern Asia and eastern and central Africa, and has been 

 occasionally taken in middle and south-western Europe. 



The bird-marking enquiry progresses. No less than 



