164 Recently puhl'i shed Ornithological Works. 



• 



Miss Snethlage further points out that the Amazon itself 

 and some of its larger tributaries form a well-defined 

 boundary between distinct faunal areas. - 



The two " Sonderhefts " contain the annual reports on 

 the "bird- watching" stations, the first l)y Dr. Hugo Weigold 

 on that of Helgoland, the other on that of Rossitten in East 

 Prussia by Dr. Thienemann. 



Trans. N. Zealand Inst. 



[Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute for tlie 

 year 1912. Vol. xlv. 1913. Pp. Tni+490.] 



Of the papers devoted to ornithology in this volume, the 

 first is by Mr. Tom Iredale (pp. 78-92) concerning the 

 avifauna of the Kermadec Islands. He gives a list of the 

 birds actually observed by him in this group during his visit 

 in 19C8, with their correct names under the strict rules of 

 nomenclature and a few notes on their synonymy and 

 occurrence. Hi the preliminary part of the paper he 

 discusses the zoogeographical relations of three groups of 

 islands — Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec, which lie 

 in a west-east line between New Caledonia and the Fiji 

 group on the north, Australia on the west, and New 

 Zealand on the south. Mr. Iredale believes from his study 

 not only of the avifauna of this but of other groups, that 

 the relations of Lord Howe are almost entirelj^ with New 

 Caledonia and not with New Zealand. In the case of 

 Norfolk Island the basic element is New Caledonian, but 

 there is also a Neozelanic element as evidenced by the 

 presence of Nestor and a Frnit-Pigeon [Ilemiphaga). On 

 the other hand, the Kermadecs do not appear to have 

 derived their fauna from New Caledonia at all, but are 

 characterized " by their strong Polynesian facies with a 

 Neozelanic basis.'^ 



On pp. 92-93 Mr. Oliver gives a few additional notes 

 obtained, since his visit there wath Mr. Iredale, on the birds 

 of the Kermadecs. 



