ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 
23 
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Notices op five recent Ornithological Papers. — The first three 
numbers of the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London” for 
1876 contain several important papers upon the anatomy and classifi- 
cation of several groups of birds, by Mr. A. H. Garrod, while among the 
numerous other ornithological articles of more or less special interest are 
papers by Mr. Howard Saunders, on the Skau Gulls and on the Terns ; 
by Messrs. Sclater and Salviii, on the Anatidce of “ Neotropical ” America ; 
an abstract of a memoir by Mr. W. K. Parker on A^githbgnathous birds ; 
and a paper by Mr. W. H. Hudson on the habits of some of the Rails of 
the Argentine Republic. Among the numerous new species of birds 
figured and described are quite a number from the Andean Region of 
South America. 
Among Mr. Garrod’s contributions is a short paper (1. c. pp. 275-277) 
on the anatomy of the Conrlan {Aramus scolopaceus). He finds it to have, 
on the whole, decidedly closer affinities with the Cranes (Crus) than with 
any other group, especially in respect to its osteology, notwithstanding its 
many external resemblances to the Rails. Hence Mr. GarrocVs researches 
confirm the views of recent systematists in respect to the affinities of this 
peculiar and interesting form. Mr. Garrod also writes (1. c. pp. 335 - 345, 
pis. xxvi - xxviii) concerning the anatomy of the Darter {Plotus anliinga), 
a bird whose anatomy, aside from its skeleton, had previousl}'’ received 
little attention. Mr. Garrod finds in its visceral anatomy several quite pe- 
culiar features, one of which is the protection of the pyloric orifice by “a 
mat of lengthy hair-like processes, much like cocoanut fibre, which nearly 
half fills the second stomach.” These hair-like fibres are found to consid- 
erably resemble in structure true cutaneous hairs. In general terms, the 
Darter may be said to present many of the features characteristic of the 
Gannets, Pelicans, and their allies, in an exaggerated degree. 
The most important and interesting of Mr. Garrod’s contributions is 
a paper “ On some Anatomical Characters which bear upon the Major 
Divisions of the Passerine Birds” (1. c. pp. 506-519, pis. xlviii-liii). 
Mr. Garrod attaches great importance to the mode of insertion of one of 
the muscles of the wing (the tensor patagii hrevis), to the character of the 
syrinx, the absence or presence of either the femoral or the sciatic artery, 
etc., to which points the researches here detailed are mainly directed. He 
concludes his paper with a tabular arrangement of the larger groups of 
the Passeres, expressive of his views of their affinities. 
Mr. Howard Saunders’s paper (1. c. pp. 317-332, pi. xxiv) on the 
Skau or Jager Gulls {Stercorariince) is devoted to the synonymy and 
range of the species, with incidental remarks on their progressive changes 
of plumage. Mr. Saunders recognizes six species, all of which he refers 
