Recently published Ornithological Works. 349 
In the year 1887y Dr. Holderer of Heidelberg and 
Dr. Futterer of Karlsruhe made a journey across Central 
Asia from the Caspian to China^ and of this journey Herr 
Sehalow now gives us the ornithological results. The travel- 
lers made but a short stay at Bokhara, Samarkand, and Tasch- 
kent, and devoted their main energies to Chinese Tibet, their 
chief collecting-stations ranging from the Altai, Pamir, and 
Kashgar districts to the Gobi Desert, the Nan-schan Range, 
the Sining-ho Valley, Koko-nor, the Upper Hoang-ho, and 
the Tsin-ling Mountains. After an account of the literature 
referring to these regions, we are given a list of species, which 
contains few biological notes, but is augmented by remarks 
on the contents of the birds^ stomachs. Pheasants were one 
of the main features of the avifauna, Phasianus holdereri, 
from Min-tschou, being described as new. Podoces biddulphi 
was obtained at Ak-su in the isolated oasis near Thian- 
schan, and P. hendersoni elsewhere, but not P. humilis. 
Three examples of the rare Archibuteo hemiptilopus Blyth 
{ = A. strophiatus Hodgs.) were procured at Koko-nor, and 
a new species, A. holdereri, at the same place, while a 
subspecies, Ruticilla rufiventris pleskii, from Nan-schan, 
is recognised as distinct. 
70. Scott on the Song of Birds. 
[Data on Song in Birds — the Acquisition of new Songs. By William 
E. D. Scott. Science, xv. p. 178 (1902).] 
Our attention is here called to some amusing facts re- 
specting the song of birds and their powers of inventing new 
songs, of which the writer gives some remarkable examples. 
That a Bose- breasted Grosbeak {Zamelodia ludoviciana) 
should be capable of talking quite plainly is surprising to 
us, as are others of Mr. Scott's stories. No one interested in 
bird-song should omit to read this paper. 
71. Shufeldt on the Osteology of the Pigeons. 
[On the Osteology of the Pigeons {Columhce). By B. W. Shufeldt. 
Journ. of Morphol. xvii. pp. 487-514, pis. A «& B, 4 cuts.] 
In this paper, treating only of the Pigeons of the United 
