478 Recently published Ornithological Works. 
‘ Journal fiir Ornithologie’ the characters of all newly de- 
scribed species of birds. In these days, when the number of 
periodicals and scientific journals is increasing so fast all over 
the world, the compendium, if kept up to date, will form a 
most useful work. Two parts are already issued. 
82. Ridgway’s ‘ Revisions of the Nomenclature of certa'n 
North-American Birds.’ 
[ Revisions of the Nomenclature of North-American Birds. By Robert 
Ridgway. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1880, pp. 1-16.] 
In this paper a number of recent changes of the nomen- 
clature of North-American birds are noted and others made. 
At present we see no signs of any abatement of the state of 
unrest which has long afflicted this subject, but we suppose 
an end of it must come sooner or later; but what with the 
introduction of trinomials, and the consequent rearrange- 
ment of the names of many birds, we do not see that this 
end is near. Mr. Ridgway’s paper contains descriptions of 
several new races. Perisoreus canadensis fumifrons (p. 5) is 
a race of P. canadensis found in Alaska, Stria nebulosa alleni 
(p. 8) one of S. nebulosa from Florida, and Siurus nevius 
notabilis (p. 12) one of S. nevius from the Black Hills, Wyo- 
ming. ‘Two new generic names are also proposed, one, Pha- 
lenoptilus (p. 5), for Caprimulgus nuttali, and the other, 
Momonyz (p. 15), for Anas sive Erismatura dominica. ‘There 
is also a long note on Myiarchus mexicanus and many others 
too numerous to mention here. 
83. Salvadori on the Genus Porphyrio. 
[Di aleune specie del genere Porphyrio, Briss. Nota di Tommaso Sal- 
vadori. Atti d. R. Accad. Sci. Torino, xiv. p. 1165. ] 
A criticism on some points in Mr. Elliot’s recently pub- 
lished essay on the species of Porphyrio (‘Stray Feathers,’ 
vil. p. 6), referring especially to P. cyanocephalus and P. calvus 
of Elliot’s list. For the former Count Salvadori prefers, with 
reason, the title P. melanonotus of Temminck, As regards the 
latter, he distinguishes from it P. samoensis, Peale, and per- 
