311 T.'*) '/? CHAPTER OF CRITICISM. 



of my specimens have a beautiful zone surrounding the larger end, much more 



clearly defined than in the first figure of the plate, resembling the eggs of the 



Red-backed Shrike, but considerably darker. 



I remain, my dear Sir, 



Yours ever truly, 

 Thetford, Norfolk, J. D. Salmon. 



June 14, 1837. 



Classification of the Falcon family by the Length of the Primaries of 



the Wing. 

 To the Editor of the Naturalist. 

 Sir,' — I believe Dr. Vigors distinguishes the different groups of Falcons by the 

 comparative length of the quill feathers of the wing. In the Ash-coloured 

 Falcon, however, the female (the Ringtail of old authors) has the fourth feather 

 the longest, and the male the third feather. This is a very important fact, and 

 one which appears to have been hitherto overlooked.* It was first pointed out to 

 me by Mr. R. H. Sweeting. 



Origin of the Name Fringilla ccelebs. 



In Rennie's edition of Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary the specific name 

 of the Chaff Finch (cozlebs, or bachelor) is said to be very appropriate, as pro- 

 bably given to it from the neatness ot its nest, &c. This does not appear to me 

 to be the origin of the name. Many birds build quite as neat nests as the Chaff 

 Finch. The name, I think, was bestowed in consequence of large flocks of these 

 birds, of separate sexes, collecting together in winter, and not uniting again till 

 milder weather arrives. t This is more the case in some winters than in others, 

 and is chiefly noticed in severe seasons. I have seen immense flocks of females 

 with scarcely a male among them, and vice versd. 



The Name " Ivy Wren," as applied to Anorthura troglodytes. 

 I wish to ask you, Mr. Editor, why you give the name Ivy Wren to Anorthura 

 troglodytes ? I think you yourself allow that it only occasionally builds in Ivy, 

 and / have never found its nest but in holes or hollows in mossy banks — whence 

 the name troglodytes, as I explained in a former number. I believe you also 

 allow that the specific term should represent some peculiar characteristic of the 

 species. This is not conveyed by the name Ivy Wren. 



I remain, Sir, 



Your obedient servant, 

 Dpncaster, April 3, 1837. Francis Orpen Morris. 



* Has our correspondent noticed this circumstance in more than one instance ?— E». 

 t This unquestionably is the reason.— En. 



