MISCELLANY. 
387 
A very general opinion prevails as to the scarcity of the Kingfisher in England, 
This, however, is owing to the shy nature of the bird, and to the small attention 
paid to Natural History by the majority of our countrymen. The assertion of 
some, that it is extremely common, is, on the other hand, equally erroneous. 
The fact is, that it is equally but rather sparingly distributed throughout the 
country, though it may perhaps not often be noticed save by the observing 
ornithologist. That a bird equalling in the spendour of its plumage the brightest 
ornithological gems of tropical climes should be indigenous in our comparatively 
northern latitude, is certainly not a little remarkable. The majority of British 
birds, as almost every one knows, are plainly attired; but the plumage of many 
of them is, nevertheless, extremely handsome.—En. 
Proposed Work on American Skulls.— A work to be entitled, “ Crania 
Americana ; or a comparative view of the skulls of various aboriginal nations of 
North and South America,” is noticed in the last number of Silliman’s Journal as 
having been for some time contemplated by Dr. Samuel Morton. The work is 
proposed to be of a folio size, and to contain from twenty-five to thirty lithographic 
plates, on which “ at least fifty skulls will be represented, with such national, 
individual, and anatomical illustrations as can be obtained in reference to each. 
The work will be preceded by an introduction^ embracing a general view of the 
five great races of men, and followed by an exposition of the probable original of 
the American tribes.— Mag. of Zool. and Bot.^ Vol. II., p. 284, 
