30 
The Emu. 
" type" egg of the Victoria Rifle Bird, discovered by Messrs. D. 
Le Souef and H. G. Barnard on the Barnard Island, became the 
property of the museum to which Mr. North belongs.* 
From photo-mechanical and typographical points of view the 
work leaves little to be desired. It is admirably printed on 
coated art paper, quarto size, with broad margins. The half- 
tone blocks of nests are splendid, but the uncoloured figures 
of eggs suffer somewhat from " halation," affecting seriously the 
markings about the "high lights." Where subscribers have 
ordered coloured copies, however, this fault will probably not 
exist. 
In conclusion, the author, and all concerned with him in his 
task, are to be congratulated on the book's general excellence, 
while the trustees deserve hearty thanks for allowing subscribers 
to obtain it complete (uncoloured plates), at 25s. It is a gift at 
such a price. 
Mr. Robt. Hall on the Genus Gymnorhina (Magpies). 
In the " Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria," vol. xiv. 
(August, 1901), Mr. Hall contributes an interesting and most 
remarkable paper on the Australian Magpies, of which there are 
four reputed species. Should the indefatigable author never 
write another article on ornithology, this one alone will render 
him famous — if all his deductions can be proved — for all time. 
It appears to Mr. Hall that far away back in the dark ages an 
extinct or ancestral " Piping-Crow " took on the colour of its 
times, and was a " uniform black type," and out of it evolved 
" one species only, G. leuconota (White-backed Magpie), with one 
variety, namely, that having a black back, known as G. tibicenr 
As the original type was supposed to be black, one would have 
expected to find the bird with most black about it (the Black- 
backed) tJie species^ and the further removed White-backed bird 
tJie variety. 
The article bristles with hypotheses and exceptions. But do 
not exceptions prove the rule } It is hard to define a species from 
a sub-species or variety, but it may be fairly taken for granted that 
a species stands good where the specific markings or features are 
constant as a rule. Upon this rule, as well as on geographical 
distribution, the Magpies can be readily divided into four species 
or races, at least, which Mr. Hall has not apparently disproved, 
(i) There are the adult birds (male and female respectively) with 
white and grey backs {G. leuconota) confined to the south-eastern 
coastal region chiefly ; (2) the lesser-sized white and grey backs 
{G. Jiyperleuca) to Tasmania ; (3) the white and dark grey or 
black backs {G. dorsalis) to the w^estern territory ; while (4) the 
black backs (in both male and female), G. tibicen, represent the 
* Report of Trustees for the year 1893, P* 4- 
