A tentative list of Chinese birds. Part I. From Colymiformes through Coraciiformes [AND] Parts 2 and 3. Passeriformes.

Peking (Beijing), The Peking Society of Natural History, 1926-[1928]. Two parts in one. 8vo (24.5 x 16.5 cm). [i], xii, 370, 8 pp. Contemporary grained half calf over marbled boards. = A seldom-seen catalogue of Chinese birds. Pages i-viii and 1-145 were published as Part I in 1926, pp. ix-xii, 146-370 and 1-8 (index) were published later, in 1928. The authors note that between the two parts there is a considerable difference in the use of genera - the second part being guided by the Japanese ornithologist Nagamichi Kuroda, who favoured genus splitting over lumping. In total, 1468 birds (species and subspecies) are recorded, with notes on their distribution. Both Chinese names (if present) and Chinese translations of English names are provided. Of Kuroda, a one page paper on a new subspecies of a Chinese woodpecker is sandwiched between pp. 140-141, where the same taxon is mentioned under a name found to be incorrect. An obituary of the Chinese bird painter Kungpah T. King is added in front, before the title page. Much later (1948), a second edition was published, being merely a reprint, omitting some text. Old library stamp on front pastedown and title page (blank) verso; leather tired, boards rubbed at edges, especially the two top outer corners; rear board detached, otherwise a very good copy.