^'°\\ ,o^'] Reviews. 45 



Ihitish Ornitliolof^ists' Union has a coniniittce at work on the 

 birds ol thi' Oh! World ; the American Ornithologists' I'nion has 

 a committee at work on the birds of the New Vi'orl.d ; and it is 

 fitting that the Australian committee should " do its bit " to\v^ards 

 the preparation of the great " Systema Avium " which is to end 

 the troublous ten years and more of unrest in ornithological circles. 



Members of the l^.A.O.l^ Check-list Commitee, elected at the 

 special general meeting on 9th June, 1920, are indeed fortunate. 

 The results of the researches and labours of the past twelve 3'ears 

 and more by Mr. Mathews have been placed in such a fuh, clear 

 form thiit the complete evidence connected with almost every 

 disputed point in the nomenclature of Austrahan ornithology is 

 plainly and succinctly stated. The "List" is a model. of good 

 arrangement and thoroughness. 



Mr. Mathews is t(; be complimented, too, ou his e.-'udour rnd 

 fairness. There is no attempt anywhere to influence the position 

 or to impress his own opinion. There is " no prejudice " — just 

 the statement of the facts and the decision which, in each case, 

 agrees with the evidence submitted. 



The differences between the " Official Check-list " and Mr. 

 Mathews's 1920 "List" are less than might have been expected. 

 Of course, the generic names of some of the cosmopolitan birds, 

 being listed by Mathews according to priority, based, as the 

 American " Check-list " was, on the tenth echtion of Linnc's 

 "Systema Nature" (1758), differ from those used in the " Offiicial 

 Check-hst," which were based, as British hsts previously were, on 

 the twelfth edition of the "Systema Naturae" (1766). The names 

 of only about 15 purely Austrahan genera are in question. This 

 is apart from the " generic standard," which, of course, is not 

 fixed — indeed, does not exist, and is largely a matter of " personal 

 idiosyncrasy " or opinion, as Mr. Mathews has clearly shown. 

 First he was a " lumper " in the " Reference -list," and then a 

 " splitter " in the 1913 " List " : but now he is revealed in the 

 1920 " List " as adopting a middle course, tencUng back to the 

 "happy medium." He further stated, when desiring that 

 Australians should co-operate in the great world work, that he 

 was " without prejudice," and was ready to take his place as one 

 of a committee, and would abide by the decision of the majority. 



The " Ofificial Check-list " and the 1920 " List " agree well as 

 to the " specific standard," the standard of division, and of the 

 species hsted. Two main causes of differences are the ignorance 

 of early ornithologists of the Asiatic migration of many Australiyn 

 birds, with the result that some, though really Asiatic birds, were 

 named as separate species here. A second cause of difference is 

 due to a practice that hampered students and hindered knowledge 

 by naming forms from remote places as distinct until they were 

 proved to be the same. Mr. Mathews shows many species to be 

 the same as those of other lands, and the Australian names become 

 synonyms 01 serve for the sub-species. This is appreciated 

 by student ?nd ornithologist, as it shows the relation more clearly 

 of the Australian avifauna to that of other regions. 



