160 Recently published Ornithological Works. [Ibis, 
book on the British Warblers and of the theory which he 
first promulgated in that work of bird-territories and of the 
great importance of exclusive possession of a tract of land in 
bird-life. In this new work he has developed his views, and 
he endeavours to prove that the struggles and battles of male 
birds in spring are due, not so much to contention for the 
possession of mates as for the possession of tracts of land or 
estates to provide hunting-grounds from which to secure 
food for the young brood. 
This new volume is of great interest, and if the author’s 
conclusions are correct has a most important bearing on 
many biological problems. We hope to present to our 
readers a more extended and critical notice of it in the next 
number of 4 The Ibis.’ 
Laubmann on the Kingfisher. 
[Beitrage zur Kenntnis des Formenlreises Alee do ntthis. Yon Dr. A. 
Laubmann. Arch. Naturges. Berlin, vol. 84, pt. A, 19:20, pp. 43-82.] 
Dr. Laubmann’s paper deals with the subspecies of the 
bird which we have hitherto called Alcedo ispida ; but owing 
to the fact that Linnaeus described the Egyptian Kingfisher 
six pages before the familiar A. ispida under the title of 
Gracula atthis, the latter name must become the specific 
name of our familiar British bird. As, however, the British 
bird is subspecificallv distinct from the Egyptian, we can 
retain the name Alcedo atthis ispida for our own form. 
Dr. Laubmann has added another terror to systematic 
ornithology by making use of four names instead of three, 
and that something which comes between the species and 
the subspecies he calls a “ formengruppe.” According to 
this system our bird becomes Alcedo atthis atthis ispida , 
the Egyptian A. atthis atthis atthis , and together with 
several other subspecies makes up the formengruppe ” 
Alcedo atthis atthis , while another 44 formengruppe ” is made 
up of three Moluccan subspecies and is termed Alcedo atthis 
hispidoides. 
The subspecific races as revised by Hartert numbered four; 
