182 Recently published Ornithological Works. 
The Tianshan Range borders the great desert of the 
Tarim on the north, rising in places to a height of over 
7000 feet and forming a portion of the central mass of the 
Asiatic continent. Being within the limits of the Palaearctic 
Region, although not far removed from the unascertained 
northern boundary of the Oriental Region, the Tianshan is 
of special interest to workers in Palaearctic Ornithology and 
deserves our closest attention. Herr Schalow has given us 
a list of the more recent authorities on the birds of the 
district, which are not numerous. It will be observed that 
Russian naturalists (Koslow, Loudon, Bianchi) are, as might 
have been expected, prominent among them. 
Herr Schalow does not state the exact number of speci¬ 
mens in Dr. Merzbacher’s collection, but we believe it was 
not very numerous. Dr. Merzbacher did not himself collect 
birds, but employed two taxidermists to do so. The speci¬ 
mens thus obtained are referred by Herr Schalow to about 
150 species, which, as a rule, are well-known Palsearctic species, 
or, in some cases, we may say subspecies, for Herr Schalow 
is a strong advocate of trinomials, and gives three names to 
the greater number of the birds referred to. There are a 
few Himalayan forms in the list, such as Mycerobas carneipes , 
Carduelis caniceps, and Ruticilla grandis, but the majority 
are northern mountaineers. 
It is quite certain that there are many more species of 
birds in the Tiantshan than are represented in the present 
collection, and we are glad to hear that Dr. Merzbacher has 
returned to that country and may probably procure an 
additional series. 
20. Stuart Baker on Indian Ducks. 
[The Indian Ducks and their Allies. By E. C. Stuart Baker, F.Z.S., 
M.B.O.U. With 30 coloured Plates, by H. Gronvold, G. E. Lodge, and 
J. G. Keulemans. 1 vol., large 8vo. 292 pp. Bombay and London, 
1908. London : R. H. Porter, 7 Princes Street, Cavendish Square, W.] 
Mr. Stuart Baker has contributed to the Journal of the 
Bombay Natural History Society a series of articles on the 
Indian Ducks and other Chenomorphae. He now reprints 
