464 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
fresh figures have been substituted for the unsatisfactory originals 
of the Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, Merlin, and Great Auk. Apropos 
of the last-named, Mr. Saunders might have included amongst 
British-taken specimens (as he did in the 4th ed. of ‘ Yarrell,’ 
vol. iv. p. 65) the Great Auk noticed by Wallis in his ‘ Natural 
History and Antiquities of Northumberland,’ 1769, wherein he 
observes (vol. i. p. 840) ‘‘ the Penguin, a curious and uncommon 
bird, was taken alive a few years ago in the island of Farn, and 
presented to the late John William Bacon, Esq., of Htherstone, 
with whom it grew so tame and familiar that it would follow 
him with its body erect to be fed.” It is difficult to conceive that 
the bird here referred to could by any possibility have been a 
Razorbill or Guillemot, species so common on and around the 
Farn Islands that they must have been perfectly familiar to the 
captors of the bird in question, as well as to many of those who 
subsequently saw it. Moreover, Wallis, as if to make its identi- 
fication clearer, quotes from the ‘ Fauna Suecica’ (p. 43), the 
Linnean diagnosis, ‘‘ Alca rostri sulco octo; macula alba ante 
oculum,” a brief though sufficiently pertinent description of 
Alca impennis. The omission of this record from the “‘ Manual” 
conveys the impression that Mr. Saunders is not quite satisfied 
of its value, whereas it would seem to be quite as much entitled 
to credence as the earlier reports of ‘‘ M. Martin, Gent.,” or Sir 
George McKenzie. 
We have only to add that the natural history loving portion 
of the British public ought to be grateful to Mr. Saunders for 
having placed within reach at a moderate cost, and in one 
volume, such a well-illustrated and accurately-written account 
of our native birds. 
A Vertebrate Fauna of the Outer Hebrides. By J. A. Harvie 
Brown and T. E. Bucxiry. 8vo, pp. xciii, 279. With 
illustrations. Edinburgh: Douglas. 1889. 
Exprotations in regard to this book, aroused by the appear- 
ance of the companion volume on Sutherland and Caithness 
(cf. Zool. 1888, p. 38), have been more than realised. The 
result of eighteen years’ exploration and observation, supple- 
mented by hints from shooting tenants, factors, gamekeepers, 
