330 
Recently published Ornithological Works. [Ibis, 
follow, Mr. Murphy, Curator of the Brooklyn Museum in 
New York, gives us an account of his recent visit to Peru 
and its bird-islands, which he terms the Peruvian Littoral 
Expedition, and which he was enabled to undertake through 
the generous bequest of the late Col. R. B. Woodward, 
a benefactor of the Brooklyn Museum. The chief objects 
of the expedition were observation and research, the 
collecting of specimens, and the obtaining of motion-picture 
records of the life on the coast and of the Peruvian guano 
industry. 
As is well known, owing to the cold Humboldt current 
which, partly coming up from the southern latitudes, and 
partly owing to the welling-up of colder water from below 
the surface, due to the trade winds blowing south of the 
equator in a north-westerly direction, the coasts of Peru 
have a fauna which is quite unlike that of ordinary tropical 
coasts, and instead of Frigate-birds and Man-o ; -War birds, 
the characteristic birds are Penguins, Diving Petrels ( Pele- 
canoides), and Larus dominicanus. In addition to this, 
owing to the fact that the great height of the Andes, 
extending like, a gigantic cliff along the whole western coast 
of South America, drain the trade winds blowing across the 
continent from the Atlantic of all their moisture, the coast- 
lands of Peru and the northern part of Chile are almost 
entirely rainless ; the result is that the guano deposited on 
the islands off the coasts by the innumerable sea-birds 
accumulates in great quantities, and has been a source of 
wealth to Peru for the last hundred years or so. 
In past times the guano deposits have been worked in a 
most reckless manner and were rapidly becoming exhausted, 
while no efforts were made to conserve the bird-life to which 
this valuable manuring agent owed its origin. 
Of recent years, however, a new regime has been in¬ 
augurated, and the whole industry is under the control of 
the government and of a’company, the “ Compania Ad- 
ministradore del Guano/' and very careful steps are taken 
to work the deposits without unduly disturbing the birds. 
