io6 



NA TURE 



[July 



1922 



monograph, is a native of Caucasia, and is said to have 

 been introduced into Europe from the banks of the 

 River Phasis (now the Rion) in Colchis (now Kurtais). 

 Though not mentioned by Mr. Beebe, the remains of 

 Phasianus have been found in the Miocene of France 

 and Switzerland, in the Pliocene of Greece, and in the 

 Pleistocene of Germany — hence pheasants, possibly 

 forms of colchicus, existed in Europe long before the 

 advent of man. 



With regard to the Koklass pheasants — genus 

 Puchrasia — Mr. Beebe alludes to the difficulty of placing 

 them with certainty in any linear scheme of classifica- 

 tion. They show traces of resemblance to several 

 groups, and perhaps come as close to the genus Syrmat- 

 icus, as defined by him, as to any other. The genus is 

 one of the most interesting of the Phasianinse, and its 

 various forms reveal one of the rarest phenomena in 

 nature — a widespread series showing delicately gradu- 

 ated and increasing complexity within a single closely 

 related group of living creatures. Three species are 

 recognised — P. macrolopha, P. xanthospila, and P. 

 darwini, each with several forms. 



The genus Syrmaticus, previous to Mr. Beebe's re- 

 searches, contained a single species only — the gorgeous 

 long-tailed Reeves pheasant, but here it has been 

 expanded to include four additional species, namely, 

 the copper pheasant, S. soemmerringi, comprising three 

 forms ; Hume's pheasants, S. humics, with two forms ; 

 Elliot's pheasant, S. ellioti ; and the Mikado pheasant, 

 S. mikado. 



The Cheer pheasant (C. wallichii) exhibits a number 

 of characters sufficiently distinct to warrant its in- 

 clusion in a separate genus, Catreus. ft is confined to 

 a comparatively small belt in the west and central 

 Himalayas — Kumaon, Garhwal, and western Nepal — 

 where it is found at elevations of 4000-10,000 feet. 



In addition to the author's masterly treatment of 

 the taxonomic aspect of the subject, he has added a 

 charm to it by his graphic descriptions of the haunts 

 and habits of the various birds which came under 

 notice during his remarkable journeys, undertaken for 

 observing and procuring specimens in various stages 

 of plumage. He has also quoted copiously, when de- 

 sirable, from the experiences of others. This com- 

 bination of excellence, if it has ever been equalled, has 

 never been surpassed in such a monograph. 



The coloured plates, twenty-four in number, are re- 

 productions from original drawings. Of these eleven 

 are devoted to the principal forms of the true pheasants, 

 and are from very careful drawings by the late 

 Major Jones. The rest are the work of several well- 

 known artists, among them Mr. G. E. Lodge, Mr. 

 Fuertes, and Mr. Gronvold, but their reproduction 

 is not so satisfactory as those which graced the pre- 

 NO. 2751, VOL. 1 10] 



ceding volumes. There are twenty-one photogravure 

 plates depicting the haunts amid which the various 

 forms are found and some of their nests. These are 

 mainly from photographs by Mr. Beebe, and add much 

 to the attractiveness of the volume. The maps 

 delineating the distribution of all the forms treated of 

 are a very useful adjunct. 



W. E. C. 



A New Book on the Andamans. 



The Andaman Islanders : A Study in Social Anthro- 

 pology. (Anthony Wilkin Studentship Research, 

 1906.) By A. R. Brown. Pp. xiv + 5044 20 plates 

 + 2 maps. (Cambridge : At the University Press, 

 1922.) 405. net. 



THIS handsome volume contains the anthropo- 

 logical results of a short residence of about 

 eighteen months in the Andaman Islands on behalf of 

 the " Anthony Wilkin Students' Research," and may 

 therefore be taken as a sample of approved work by 

 the modern type of Cambridge-trained student. It 

 is well produced by the Cambridge University Press, 

 and is excellently illustrated from photographs taken, 

 it is presumed, by the author. Indeed, so good are 

 these last that the present writer recognises the originals 

 of several of the portraits. As regards photographs 

 illustrating these aborigines, their surroundings, habits, 

 manners, and customs, the scientific world is specially 

 well off, owing' to the efforts extended over many years 

 by such competent illustrators as Messrs. E. H. Man 

 and M. V. Portman, the many magnificent volumes 

 of the latter observer, deposited in the India Office 

 Library, being not nearly so well known as they 

 should be. 



The book may be divided into two parts : a running 

 account of Mr. A. R. Brown's travels, giving the results 

 of his observations of facts, together with references 

 to and criticisms of his predecessors in this particular 

 field of research, chiefly of Mr. E. H. Man, and an 

 " interpretation " of the observations. The plan of the 

 book is thus a good one. The writer states his own 

 observations and where he differs from his predecessors, 

 and then builds his theories on the results. It is where 

 he ventures to differ from Mr. Man that the plan seems 

 to fail to be as effective as it ought to be. He con- 

 stanth sets up Mr. Man's views and statements only 

 to knock them down. He thus pits his opinions 

 against Mr. Man's. This makes for comparison, and 

 leads to the observation that Mr. Man was thirty years 

 with the Andamanese, knew them intimately and their 

 language well, and studied them unremittingly : all 

 this, too, at a time when they were numerous, their 

 tribes well separable from each other, and the contact 



