Recent Ornithological Publications. 199 
their assertions, now repeated by him, have been shown by later 
investigations to have been founded in mistake, and several 
errors are thus perpetuated. 
2. German and Dutch Publications. 
Dr. R. A. Philippi’s f Journey through the Desert of Atacama/ 
of which we gave the title in our last Number (p. 109), contains 
a special chapter on the zoology of this singular and nearly 
rainless region of the Chilian republic, besides very many obser¬ 
vations on every branch of natural history scattered throughout 
the narrative of the expedition. The account given of the birds 
(p. 161) is short and not very satisfactory, owing to the specimens 
collected having been partly mislaid and lost. The species men¬ 
tioned as occurring within the limits of the desert are 33 in num¬ 
ber, the greater part of them belonging to well-known Chilian 
species. Polyborus mont anus [i.e.Milv ago megalopterus,\ ideantea, y 
p. 19) is the commonest bird of prey in the desert, and in this 
part of Chili descends to the coast. Trochilus leucopleurus ( i.e . 
Oreotrochilus leucopleurus), a bird belonging to a group of Tro- 
chilidce generally supposed to be confined to the higher Cordilleras, 
also descends here nearly to the coast, having been met with near 
Hueso Parado, at an elevation of not more than 1000 feet above 
the sea-level. Upucerthia atacamensis (p. 162, Zool. pi. 3) seems 
to be identical with Cinclodes bifasciatus, Sclater, described in 
the Zoological Society’s f Proceedings’ for 1858 (p. 448), from 
examples collected by Bridges in Bolivia. Totanus chilensis 
requires further examination and comparison. The new three¬ 
toed Plamingo, already described by Dr. Philippi in 1854*, is, 
perhaps, the most interesting bird of the Atacamian desert. We 
find the following notice of its habits (p. 57), as observed near 
Tilopozo :— 
“ Two hundred yards from our well were six Flamingoes, of a 
new species without the hind-toe ( Phcenicopterus andinus, mi hi), 
which is only found in the high Cordilleras, but, as it appears, 
is not uncommon from Peru to Copiapo. It is wonderful that 
no naturalist seems to have seen it before. Garcilaso de la Yega 
* Annales de la Universidad de Chile, 1854, p. 164 : Gilliss’s U. S. Nav. 
Astr. Exp. ii. p. 198 : Archiv f. Nat. xxi. p. 10. 
