Abstract:
This second volume of the' Avifauna contains a further
installment of the Passer es, including 473 species and subspecies,
bringing the total number dealt with up to date to
949. The second volume o f the Avifauna has appeared
within about 20 months of the first, although the prescribed
period' between the publication o f eaqh issue is supposed to
bo two years. This is due to the persistence of our Editor,
Sir Arthur E. Shipley, and, it must be added, to the fact thnt
the Authorities concerned fully appreciate the value of rapid
production in a work of this nature. A still more important
success gained by the Editor is sanction to a sixth volume to
’ the ifvifauna, which is to contain a full Synonymy of all first
references in addition to corrigenda and addenda to the
first five volumes. *
I t is hofied that the third voljiine will be completed in
another 18 months or less and that subsequent volumes will
appear at even shorter intervals. Headers will, however,
realize that any work which, entails the consideration of subspecies—
a now factor in Indian Zoology— also entails an
■enormous amount of Museum work, which cannot.be hurried
over. Nomenclature, also, is at present in such a state- of
flux that it is extremely difficult to follow the writings of
those who make a special study of this subject, in addition
to the original research work the Author .himself has to get
through
