''^^•5] Recent Literature. 2 7 1 



Mr. Cooke, in his reports, evidently has an eye to condensation, a num- 

 ber in parenthesis (as "(3o)"=St. Louis, Mo., O. Widman) standing for 

 the name of the station and observer; his matter is pertinent and in most 

 cases well arranged ; while his summaries respecting the movements of 

 particular species, as given in his later papers^ show at a glance what 

 are the results attained. — J. A. A. 



Bean's Notes on Birds collected in Alaska and Siberia.*— Dr. 

 Bean, while investigating the fish and fisheries of Alaska in the summer 

 of 1880, devoted incidentally some time to birds. Many of the species 

 were obtained from localities within the Arctic Circle, and several were 

 added to those previously known from Alaska. The list numbers 77 spe- 

 cies, with annotations, and in some cases tables of measurements, notably 

 in the case of Melosfiza chierea. The paper closes with a table of localities 

 showing where the species were collected. Among the species secured 

 was a specimen oi Eurinorkynchus pygmcBus. ''Emptdonax diffict'lis and 

 Buteo borealis calurus were obtained for the first time in the territory. 

 The range of Actodrotnas acuminata was extended northward to Port 

 Clarence." Diomedea melanoplnys was observed (but not taken) "about 

 1.060 miles west of Cape Mendocino, California," and on this ground has 

 been added by Mr. Ridgway (this Bulletin, Vol. VII, p. 258) to the North 

 American fauna. — J. A. A. 



Old World Birds in the National Museum. — Mr. Ridgway has 

 published f a listof Old World birds in the National Museum with the 

 object to render apparent the desiderata of the Museum among Old World 

 species. The numeration and classification adopted is that of Gray's well- 

 known "Hand-list." — J. A. A. 



Stejneger on the Cygni^j'^.J — The external and osteological char- 

 acters are given in detail, with diagnoses of the genera and species, dis- 

 cussions of various points of nomenclature, and a careful exposition of the 

 distinctive feature of the nine species recognized. The affinities of the 

 genus Coscoroba are dwelt upon at length, with the result of referring it 

 to the AnatiticB. Besides the extinct genus Palceocyctius (Stejn., gen. 

 nov.), the author recognizes four genera of Swans, namely Sthenelus 

 (gen. nov.), Cygnus, Olor, and Ckenopis. The two North American spe- 

 cies are assigned to Olor. — J. A. A. 



* Notes on Birds collected during the Summer of 1880 in Alaska and Siberia. By 

 Tarleton H. Bean. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1882, pp. 144-173. July 25. 1882. 



t Catalogue of Old World Birds in the United States National Museum. By Robert 

 Ridgway. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1881, pp. 317-333. March, 1882. 



+ Outlines of a Monograph of the Cygnina;. By Leonhard Stejneger. Proc. U. S. 

 Nat. Mus., 1882, pp. 174-221, figg. 16. July 25, 1882. 



