612 RecentLilerature. [Auk[Oct.

of Perubeing much more extensiveand muchcloser to the ParagonJansea level fauna from which its fauna is derived presentsa marked differ- ence in character. Interesting lists of speciesof the severalzones have been prepared showingthe distributionof both generaand species. From thesewe see that 57 per centof the speciesof the Puna Zoneare endemicas compared with 80 per centof thoseof the TemperateZone. The difference,as Dr. Chapmanpoints out, is probablydue to the greaterdifferentiation in the life of the latter Zone, which was evidently derivedfrom the Tropical Zone and has probablypassed through a Subtropicalstage, whereas the life of the Puna Zone is but slightlydifferentiated from the SouthTem- perate of Patagonia. The introductorypages contain also full descriptionsof the various localitiesvisited with excellentillustrations from photographs. The list includesall speciesreported from the UrubambaValley, 380 in number,with annotationson theserepresented in the collectionsstudied by the author. Thirteennew speciesand subspecies obtained by the expe- ditionshave already been describedby Dr. Chapmanand in the present paper he proposesthree othersAratinga milrala aliicola (p. 62), Siplornis modestaproxima (p. 83), and Ochlhoecalessoni leclricialis (p. 88). The paper forms another valuable contributionto Neotropical orni- thologythe problemsof whichare beingrapidly elucidatedby Dr. Chap- man's researches. In closingour review we cannot refrain from quoting a paragraphwhich reflectsso admirably upon the presentday crazefor new generaand the desireof many writers, who know nothing about the questionsinvolved to be "up to the minute" in their nomenclature! Dr. Chapmansays: "Generic subdivisionin ornithologynowadays is so unstandardizedand in many casesis so largely a matter of opinion,that it seemsunwise to change long-establishedterms until opportunity has been affordedto weight the evidenceon which the new or revived genera in questionare recognized."--W. S. Wollaston's 'Life of Alfred Newton2•--To the averageornithologist the name of Newton is at onceassociated with the 'Dictionary of Birds' and thosewho make use of this work as they should,cannot but be im- pressednot only by the profoundknowledge of birdsand their literature, which the author possessed,but by his mastery of the Englishlanguage, which enabled him to embody such a wealth of information in such a relatively small space. Newton is also known through his '0otheca Wolleyana', another masterlypiece of English compositionand reservoir

• A Life of Alfred Newton, Professorof Comparative Anatomy, Cambridge Uni- versity, 1866-1907. By A. F. R. Wollaston, with a Preface by Sir Archibald Geikie, O.M., with illustrations. London, Johu Murray, Albemarle Street, W. 1921, pp. i-xiv.-•l-132. Price 18 shillings. Vol. XXXVIII]1921 J RecentLiterature. 613 of information on the breedingof Palaearcticbirds, publishedas a mem- orial to his friend and colleague,John Wooley, and also as a contribution to the study of birds' eggs,a branchof ornithologyto which a large part of Newton's life had been devoted. To British ornithologistsNewton's name will ever be associatedwith the B. O. U. of which he was one of the founders--if not the founder since the original meeting was held in his roomsat Cambridge. It is fitting that a man of Newton's eminencein his chosenfield should be properly memorializedand the recent volume by one of his former students,Mr. A. F. R. Wollaston,places on record,in a satisfactoryman- ner, the main eventsof his life and givesa clear idea of his characterand personality. In style the biographyis perhapsnot all that we might de- sire, since the subject matter seemsto be rather carelesslythrown to- gerber and lacks continuity, so that the charm that many biographies possessin their well sustainednarrative is to someextent lost. This is due in large measureto the long delay and interruptionsin preparingthe volume, to which the author was compelledto submit through force of circumstances,and to the final necessityof cutting down his manuscript to about one half of its original length. Alfred Newton,we learn, was born on June 11, 1829,the sonof a Nor- folk squire, and was educatedat CambridgeUniversity, where in after years he became Professorof Zoology and Comparative Anatomy. I•Ie obtained a travelling scholarshipat the University which enabled him to gratify his great ambition to travel in Lapland and Iceland to investi- gate the breedinghabits of the birds of these northern countries, while later he visitedthe West Indies and the United States,in pursuitof bird lore and birds' eggs. In early life he sufferedan accidentwhich left him lame and this led latertoanother mishap which aggravatedhis affliction, but in spite of all he continued his active life bearing with remarkable fortitude the great handicap that had been placed upon him. I•Ie had the qualificationsof a great explorerand had it not been for his affliction would undoubtedly have made a name for himself in this field. BetweenNewton and his brother Edward there existedthe deepestaf- fection which stands forth as one of the beautiful features of his life. Their interestswere largelyidentical and when separatedthey wrote to one another every day, or by ever mail when one of them happenedto be out of the country. Newton's conservatismis evident in everything connectedwith his life--his viewsupon most subjects,his personalhabits, attire, etc., but curiouslyenough we find him amongthe first to adopt the ideasof Dar- win and Wallaceon evolutionand one of their staunchsupporters in the stormydiscussions which rent the British Associationin the early sixties. Newton was dearlyloved by thosewho cameinto personalcontact with him at Cambridgeand his kindlinessto young ornithologistsextended 614 RecentLiterature. [oct.['Auk far beyondthe confinesof the University town, or even the boundaries of Gre•t Britain, as the presentwriter can testify. Sir Archibald Geike in a prefaceto Mr. Wollaston'sbiography sums up Newton's characteras follows: "His perennialbonhommie, his youthful enthusiasmsmaintained up to the last, his inexhaustiblefund of anecdote and reminiscence, his raftailing good humor, his love of work, and his generousco-operation in the doings of every fellow-workerwho needed his help, together with the amusingpredicaments in which his conversa- tion sometimesplaced him combined to make a rare and delightful per- sonality;" and the author closinghis personalestimate of the man says: "When once you were a friend of Newton's you were always his friend. He was possessedof the old-fashionedcourtesy of manner, and a certain leisurelinessof habit, which made a visitor feel that he was not trespassing upon the time of his host. Both in appearanceand in character he had the finest attributes of the old race of English country gentleman,to which by birth he belonged." Newton's name and influenceare indelibly impressedupon the history of ornithology and present day students of his favorite sciencewill do well to read carefully the volume which Mr. Wollaston has brought to- gether as they are bound to gain inspirationfrom the history of the life that is there set forth.--W. S.

Stresemann, on the Woodpeckers of Sumatra.•--The various Sumatran speciesare consideredin relation to the forms inhabiting laca, Java, and Borneo,etc., and the applicabilityof Steere'slaw is dis- cussed. Under each speciesare paragraphs dealing with distribution biology and differentiationinto races;then under the Sumatranrace of the speciesare discussed,its characters;sexual differences;plumage of the young; distribution; biology; and observations. The followingnew forms are described Picus vittatus limitans, (p. 74), East Xangean; Collolophusminiatus dayok (p. 82), West Borneo;and Dino- pium javanensepalmarum (p. 93) Sumatra. At the closeof the paper there isasummary of the author's detailed study, under the following headings: zoogeographicconsideration, geo- graphicvariation in color, ontogenyof colorationand sexualdimorphism, molt and number of eggs. The paper is admirably planned and data of much interest and importanceare presented.--W. S.

Rothschild, on Birds of Yunnan.2--A collectionmade by George Forrest for Col. StephensonClarke, contains representationsof 278 of

• Die Spechte der Insel Sumatra. Eine monographische Studie. yon Dr. E. Stresemann. Archiv. f, i'qaturg., 87, abt. A., Heft 7. June, 1921, pp. 64-120. 2 On a collection of Bh.ds from West-central and North-western Yunnan. By Lord Rothschild, Novit. Zool., XXVIII, May, 1921, pp. 14-67.