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On the Classification of Birds, and particularly of the Genera 

 of European Birds. By John Hogg, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., 

 F.L.S., &c. Communicated by the Author. 



The principal part of this paper was <jriginally incor- 

 porated in my " Catalogue of Birds, observed in South- 

 Eastem Durham, and in North- Western Cleveland,^' which 

 I read before the zoological section of the British Associa- 

 tion for the advancement of Science, at York, on the 26th 

 September 1844 ; but, being desirous of extending the clas- 

 sification therein proposed, I thought it advisable to delay 

 the publication of this part, until another opportunity had 

 permitted me to examine the noble collection of birds in the 

 British Museum, for ihe purpose of rendering it as perfect 

 as my leisure would allow. That catalogue^ exclusive of any 

 remarks on arrangement^ has already appeared in the 

 ** Zoologist'* for August, October, November, and December, 

 1845. NoWj with regard to the classification adopted for the 

 same catalogue, and of which a sketch is published in the 

 " Report of the fourteenth meeting of the British Associa- 

 tion," it is here necessary to enter into some short explana- 

 tion. 



On forming that catalogue, I, in a great degree, followed 

 Mr Yarrelfs arrangement and nomenclature. Although I 

 principally adopted the former, with certain exceptions, for 

 the land-birds ; yet, for the rvater-birds, I made considerable 

 alterations, and chiefly assumed Cuvier^s classification. Hav- 

 ing twenty years ago written a " catalogue of most of the 

 birds which are known to frequent the country near Stock- 

 ton," that was afterwards published in the appendix to 

 Brewster^ s *' History of Stockton-upon-Tees," I chose for it the 

 Cuvierian system, which had then been given to the world 

 only seven years before in Wie first edition of the " Begne 

 Animal." Being still much prejudiced in favour of that na- 

 tural arrangement (which I believe I was one of the first 

 to adopt in this country), it appeared to me to be more ad- 

 visable to [incorporate it in my recent Memoir with that 

 classification subsequently instituted by some of our English 



