172 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1890 



Likewise we hope that he has some stronger reason than the fact that Otocompsa 

 emeria is by Linnaeus "distinctly stated have come from Bengal," for his upsetting 

 of the nomenclature of 0. emeria and O. jocosa. The locality " Bengal" had a 

 wide significance with writers of a hundred years ago. 



The author's review of the Dicruridce is very satisfactory (pp. 310, 311), but 



the family is strangely out of place between the Sittidce and Certhiidai. In his 



family Sylviidee, Mr. Oates unites all the Grass-warblers (Cisticola), with the 



true Warblers, and the whole of this portion of the work is very scientifically 



treated, though again we do not like the order of the genera. Lusciniola with 



its one species, L. melanopogon, is placed between the Tailor-birds or (Orthotomus) 



and the Fantail-warblers (Cisticolce,) and Acanthoptila finds a new home near 



Sckcenicola and Chaitornis. This is apparently a good discovery of Mr. Oates, as 



is undoubtedly the separation of Abrornis from Cryptolopha, by reason of the 



hitherto unsuspected difference in the number of the tail-feathers. Acanthopneuste 



is separated from Phylloscopus, and to the latter are restored many of the species 



incongruously placed in Lusciniola by Mr. Seebohm in the fifth volume of the 



"Catalogue of Birds." Although we have hitherto associated the Cuckoo-shrikes 



with the Flycatchers, we do not object to follow Mr. Oates in placing them among 



the Shrikes, and Hemipus and Tephrodornis may also go into the Lani'idm. The 



family Prionopidos, which in the third volume of the " Catalogue" we adopted 



from Sundervall, was never one which we felt much enthusiasm about, and it 



was somewhat of a " waste-paper basket," but Mr. Oates is the first ornithologist 



who has attempted to allocate the Prinopine genera in other families in anything 



like a satisfactory way. 



Although we are compelled to differ from Mr. Oates on certain questions, these 

 are really of very minor importance, and in no wise detract from our admiration 

 of the way in which he has performed his task. It is mainly because the work 

 is so good that we have analysed it so minutely, in order to discuss the points of 

 difference between Mr. Oates and ourselves ; and we give below a list of tlie 

 modifications which be has introduced into the first volume of the " Birds of 

 India," in the hope that they may be of service to ornithologists. We may add 

 that the whole volume is profusely illustrated with woodcuts, which are excellent 

 examples of Mr. Peter Smith's work, and they are a great assistance in decipher- 

 ing the minor points of structure which Mr. Oates has discovered in his classi- 

 fication of the Passeres. 



FAM. CORV1D.E. 



Sub-family Corvine. 



Corvnx corax. — Difference between Ravens from Sikknn and from the Punjab. 



Neck-hackles figured. E. W. Oates, Fann. Brit. Ind. Birds, p. 14. 

 Corvus sharpii, sp. n., is the Siberian form of Hooded-Crow which winters in 



N.-W. India : id., t.c , p. 20. 



