Recently published Ornithological Works. 395 
The present volume deals with the first half of the birds of 
the Order Passeres found within the limits assigned to the 
present work, i. e. Africa south of the Zambesi and Cunene 
rivers. The author, as he tells us, has endeavoured to arrange 
the subject-matter in such a manner that a tyro in ornitho¬ 
logy may be enabled to identify a specimen with a certain 
amount of ease and accuracy. The plan and arrangement 
adopted are based upon those followed by Mr. Eugene Oates 
in the volumes on “ Birds ” in the f Fauna of British India/ 
viz., a full description, illustrated where necessary, of the 
characters which define the different genera, followed by a 
key to the species included in each. 
The majority of the descriptions have been taken from 
specimens in the South African Museum at Cape Town, 
where there is a good mounted series of South African 
birds in the public gallery, besides a large named collection 
in cabinets. The remainder are mostly from examples in 
the Albany Museum at Grahamstown, the Durban Museum 
in Natal, and from the author’s own collection. The 
present work is rendered of special value by the author’s 
own field-notes, resulting from his long personal expe¬ 
riences in various parts of the Cape Colony, Natal, and 
the Transvaal from 1892 to 1898, for in these will be found 
concise accounts of the general habits, food, song, and nidifi- 
cation of the various species. The perusal of some of these 
excellent notes leads us to regret more than ever that Stark 
did not live to complete his work. We fear it will be a very 
difficult task to arrange the MSS. and journals left behind 
him so as to finish the work iu the same fashion. 
So far as we know no previous writer has recorded so 
clearly the extraordinary breeding-habits of some of the 
Weaver-birds, which alone among the Passeres seem to be 
decidedly polygamous. For example, we select Stark’s 
account of the nesting-habits of the Great-tailed Widow- 
bird (Coliopasser procne), which somewhat resemble the 
proceedings of the Fur-Seals [Otaria) among Mammals:— 
“ As soon as the males begin to assume their long tails in 
spring the flocks break up, and each male, accompanied by 
