3 [Vol. xlii. 



them great reward. In the same part of the continent, though 

 far removed to the west, Capt. Angus Buchanan has recently 

 made an exploratory expedition on behalf of Lord Rothschild 

 and theTring Museum. His destination was Asben or A'ir, a 

 range of mountains in the southern part of the Sahara due 

 north of Kano in Nigeria. The results, so far as birds are 

 concerned, of this expedition have recently been published 

 by Dr. Hartert and are of exceptional interest, as bearing on 

 the question of the boundary-line between the Paljearctic 

 and Ethiopian regions. 



Another zoological exploration which has recently com- 

 pleted its labours is the Oxford Spitsbergen Expedition. 

 Under the leadership of Mr. Jourdain it has done great 

 things^ and we shall hope to see published before long- 

 complete results of their investigations. I understand that 

 an unsuspected new Phalarope obtained by the expedition 

 will be described this evening. 



Accompanying the Mt. Everest expedition, of which 

 you have probably read a good deal in the newspapers, is 

 Dr. Wollaston, and we may expect soon to see him back in 

 this country with collections of birds and plants. 



Finally, we must not forget Mr. G. L. Bates, who is 

 exploring the drier country of eastern Cameroon north- 

 wards toward Lake Chad, and Mr. A. de C. Sowerby, who is 

 working for the United States National Museum in China, 

 and Mr. Wilkins, who is with the Shackleton Expedition in the 

 * Quest/ and hopes to collect birds in the Antarctic Islands. 



In the matter of publication there does not appear to be 

 much to report. This is probably due to the great difficulty 

 and cost of printing and publishing in all countries. A 

 second part of Mr. Beebe's magnificent monograph on the 

 'Pheasants' has appeared, and several more numbers of Dr. 

 Hartert's invaluable ' Birds of the Palaearctic Region ' have 

 been issued, and the numbers of the ' Birds of Australia ' by 

 Mr. Mathews appear with commendable regularity ; while, 

 in collaboration with Mr. Tom Iredale, he has published the 

 first part of a smaller ' Handbook of the Birds of Australia.' 

 Perhaps the two most interesting works published in 

 England during the past year are Dr. Wollaston's ' Life of 



a2 



