172 
Mr. P. L. Sclater on new 
it could be distinguished. It has, however, the outer toe 
aborted in such a peculiar way that it has been made by its 
describer the type of a new genus. This bird seems to have 
the same habit of skulking in dense jungle of hill-bamboo 
that I have observed in Paradoocornis, Heteromorpha, and 
Suthora. 
“ Pno’epyga troglodytoides, New., is another curious bird, 
doubtfully assigned to that genus by its describer, and very 
different in appearance from any Pno'epyga I have seen. 
Many species previously only known from the Himalaya 
were found in Moupin by M. David—among them Grandala 
coelicolor , Hodgs., Cinclus caskmeriensis , Gould, Lerwa nivi- 
cola, Hodgs., and Accentor nipalensis, Hodgs., all birds which 
I have only seen at elevations above 14,000 feet in Sikim. 
Coupling with this the absence of Barbets, Fruit-Pigeons, 
Trogons, Hornbills, and the tropical genera of Woodpeckers, 
all birds which are found as high as 5000 or 6000 feet in 
Sikim, I conclude that the lowest valleys in this part of Thibet 
are of a much more alpine nature than in Sikim, and subject 
in winter to a more severe climate.” 
XXI.— New and forthcoming Bird-Books. 
By the Acting Editor. 
At no previous period, we believe, has so much ornithological 
work been going on as at the present time. In every branch 
of our favourite science great activity is now manifested. A 
few words, therefore, on the leading events of the day may 
not be unacceptable to such of our readers as live away from 
the great centres of civilization. 
Commencing with the Palaearctic Region, Mr. Gould's 
great work on the birds of Great Britain is now complete, 
and his numerous subscribers are struggling to get their copies 
bound as quickly as possible. No bird-book, it is whispered, 
has ever had such a financial success. Every copy of a large 
edition is either already disposed of, or likely to be so within 
a very short period, and the work will quickly rise to a pre¬ 
mium. Nor is this any matter for wonder, when we turn over 
