500 



NA TURE 



{Sept. 21, 1882 



certainly do not convey any very definite ideas to the 

 uninitiated. We will, therefore, endeavour to explain in 

 a few words what "Jacamars" and " Puff-birds" are. 



The Jacamars or family "Galbulidae" of naturalists 

 form a small group of birds somewhat resembling the 

 kingfishers in general external structure, but with zygo- 

 dactyle feet, i.e. the toes placed two before and two 

 behind, and with brilliant metallic plumage. They in- 

 habit the forests of America from Guatemala to Southern 

 Brazil, and are generally met with perched upon the outer 

 branches of the trees, and capturing their insect-prey by 

 short flights, after which ^they return to their former 

 station — like our common flycatcher. The known Jaca- 

 mars are nineteen in number, referable to six genera. Of 

 all of these species and, in most cases, of both sexes of 

 them, full life-sized figures are given in the present work, 

 from the artistic pencil of M. Keulemans. Of the accom- 

 panying letterpress it need only be said that it embraces 

 an account of all the particulars yet known respecting 

 these birds, which at the present time in several cases 

 amounts to very little, and in nearly every instance leaves 

 much to be done before we can be said to have anything 

 like a perfect knowledge of them. 



Of the closely allied family of the Bucconidas or Puff- 

 birds nearly the same may be alleged as regards our 

 knowledge of their life-history. The dense wilds of South 

 America need many further years of constant exploration 

 and minute investigation before such particulars can be 

 duly recorded. The Puff-birds are a more numerous 

 group than the Jacamars. Mr. Sclater recognises forty- 

 four species of the family Bucconida?, divisible into seven 

 genera. These are treated in exactly the same way as 

 the Jacamars, and illustrated in a similarly artistic manner. 

 No one we think will be likely to find fault with the life- 

 like way in which the artist has represented the various 

 species. Even as a picture-book the Jacamars and Puff- 

 birds form a most attractive volume. 



The work now completed is uniform in size and style 

 with Mr. Sharpe's " Kingfishers," Messrs. Marshalls' 

 " Barbets," and Capt. Shelley's "Sun-birds," and forms 

 one of the same series of illustrated Ornithological Mono- 

 graphs prepared by different Members of the British 

 Ornithologists' Union. Nor is the series likely to end 

 here, for we are informed that Mr. Dresser has a com- 

 panion volume on the •Bee-eaters" in a very forward 

 state, and that other similar works are already projected. 



OUR BOOK SHELF 

 An Illustrated Essay on Noctuida of Aorth Amer/ta, 

 with "a Colony of Butterflies." By Augustus Radcliffe 

 Grote, A.M., &c. Svo. (London: Van Voorst, 1S82.) 

 The main feature in this beautifully-got-up little book 

 consists in the four coloured plates, which depict forty- 

 five of some of the most charming insects of the 

 family of moths, to which the author has devoted his 

 special attention. The species have all been previously 

 described, but all those who have studied Lepidoptera 

 know that it is often practically impossible to identify these 

 insects from descriptions only, and will feel grateful to 

 Mr. Grote for the help anorded by these plates, which are 

 very beautiful. They will likewise thank him for identi- 

 fying many of the North American species "described'' 

 by Walker, according to the types in the British Museum. 

 This process of identifying Walker's types appears likely 

 to occupy the attention of entomologists at least to the 



end of the present century. The long introductory 

 " Preface " (which forms more than a third of the 

 entire text, and is paged continuously with it) is 

 open to the suggestion of being too rambling in cha- 

 racter, and of containing general matter, and polemics, 

 foreign to the title of the book. The chapter on structure 

 and literature will prove very useful. Here, as in the 

 " Preface," a want of concentration in the remarks is 

 observable. The supplementary " Colony of Butterflies" 

 is the most successful part of the work from a literary 

 (and perhaps also from a scientific) point of view. A 

 curious butterfly of a genus of boreal proclivities (CE/ieis 

 sei/iidea) inhabits the summit of Mount Washington (in 

 the White Mountains), above an elevation of 5600 feet to 

 the summit (6293 feet), and is there isolated. Naturally 

 this is associated with the glacial theory (and it might find 

 many parallels in the Alps of Europe, &c), and the 

 author has contrived to give us a very instructive chapter 

 on this subject, but we do not gather how he came to know 

 that the "colony "first settled "ahout one hundred thou- 

 sand years ago." 



Six Months in Persia. By Edward Stack. 2 vol* 

 (London: Sampson Low and Co., 1882.) 



Notwithstanding some serious drawbacks, this work 

 will be accepted as a useful contribution to our knowledge 

 of a country about which much ignorance still prevails. 

 It embodies the results of a journey made through the 

 central provinces of Persia last year by a promising 

 member of the Bengal Civil Service en route for England. 

 By departing, wherever possible, from the beaten tracks 

 along the main highways between the Persian Gulf and 

 the Caspian, the traveller has succeeded in collecting 

 much useful information regarding many districts about 

 which very little was hitherto known. But the journey 

 having been specially undertaken at some personal in- 

 convenience in the interests of geographical research, it 

 seems all the more surprising that more forethought was 

 not shown by the explorer in qualifying himself for the 

 task. A little time devoted to a study of the broad 

 principles of geology and botany, as well as to the simple 

 methods of taking altitudes, would have enabled 

 him to turn his opportunities to far better account. 

 As it is, these branches of science are almost en- 

 tirely neglected, and the space which might have 

 been usefully occupied, with such subjects, is too often 

 sacrificed to trivial details irritating to the reader, and 

 swelling the work to undue proportions. As Damdvand 

 was ascended, it would have been more satisfactory, 

 for instance, to have checked the altitude of that famous 

 cone (18,600 feet), taken some years ago by the Russian 

 Caspian Survey, than to be told that at one place there 

 were two little shrines " with small blue domes, date 

 groves and water," at another a ruined mud fort, further 

 on many other ruined mud forts, that one man asked him 

 "endless questions about England which I answered to 

 the best of my ability for the space of two hours," that 

 another " gave me a good dinner," and so on for page 

 after page. Nevertheless some important work, chiefly 

 of a topographical character, was carried out and carefully 

 recorded in the region between Shiraz and Lar, in the 

 Saiddbad and Karm&n districts, in the neighbourhood of 

 Yazd, and especially in the Bakhtari highlands west of 

 Isfahan. Here the orography and hydrography of the 

 Chahar Mahal and Zarda-kuh uplands were carefully 

 surveyed, and a fresh route explored thence northwards 

 to Gilpaigan. As, according to the latest accounts, the 

 Bakhtari hillmen are again threatening to give trouble 

 to the Prince-Governor of Isfahdn, this information may 

 soon prove valuable. These fierce nomads are of the 

 same race and speech as the Kurds, who committed such 

 havoc in the Urmia district last year, and who seem to 

 be again preparing for fresh raids on the Turco-Persian 

 frontier between Azerbaijan and Armenia. 



