Recently published Ornithological Works. 369 



nominated, leaving- nioderu birds to the fourth subclass 

 " Eurhipidurte " of Gill, so-called in contradistinction to 

 ^' Saururse/' from their fan-like tail. The Eurhipidurse are 

 subdivided into three "■ superorders/' Dromseoguathie, Im- 

 pennes, and Euornithes. The Tinamoos are annexed to the 

 Struthiones in the first of these. It is, however, we think, 

 hardly justifiable to use Prof. Huxley^s term " Droraseo- 

 gnathse,^' intended for the Tinamoos only, in this extended 

 sense : it would be even better, in our opinion, to retain 

 the term '' Struthiones" for the group thus constituted. 

 The name " Ratitse " is of course no longer applicable to a 

 division in which the Tinamoos are included. That the 

 authors are right in the important rank thus conferred on 

 the Penguins, we are firmly convinced. The Penguins 

 cannot be descendants of ancestors that ever had normal 

 bird^s wings, and must be kept quite apart from the typical 

 birds. But whether it is justifiable to include the Tinamoos 

 in the same primary division as the Struthiones, and to raise 

 the Penguins to exactly the same level as this division, we 

 are not so certain. 



Dr. Stejneger's classical terms are mostly so far more 

 correct than those of the general run of his brother orni- 

 thologists that he will excuse us for pointing out that the 

 plural of 6So{)9, a tooth, is not " odontoi," nor that of " scu- 

 tellum " '' scutellce " ! As regards our friend Prof. Newton^s 

 well-known claim in favour of the Crow as the most '^ un- 

 challenged chief" of the class of birds. Dr. Stejneger well 

 shows (pp. 482, 483) that the Corvine tarsus is " very low 

 indeed"; and he might have added that the structure of the 

 Crow's wing is likewise incompatible with so high a rank. 

 We agree with Dr. Stejneger that the most highly developed 

 bird is a nine-primaried Oscine, but are not sure that the 

 much-detested Sparrow has not as good claims for this 

 exalted position as Dr. Stejneger's candidates the Hawfinch 

 and the Evening-grosbeak. 



Subjoined is a passage from Dr. Stejneger's disquisition 

 on the subject of counting the primaries in the bird's wing, 

 Avhich deserves the serious attention of ornithologists : — 



