INTRODUCTION 4r 



set forth a Tentamen Systematis yiaturalis Avium, no less'modestly entitled 

 than modestly executed. The attempt of Merrem must be regarded as the 

 virtual starting-point of the more recent efforts in Systematic Ornithology, 

 and in that view its proposals deserve to be stated at length. Some of its 

 details, as is only natural, cannot be sustained with our present knowledge, 

 resulting from the information accumulated by various investigators through- 

 out more than eighty years ; but it is certainly not too much to say that 

 Merrem's merits are incomparably superior to those of any of his pre- 

 decessors as well as to those of the majority of his successors for a long 

 time to come ; while the neglect of his treatise by many (until of late it 

 would not be erroneous to say by most) of those who have since written on 

 the subject seems inexcusable save on the score of inadvertence. Premising 

 then that the chief characters assigned by this ill-appreciated systematist to 

 his several groups are drawn from almost all parts of the structure of Birds, 

 and are supplemented by some others of their more prominent peculiarities, 

 we present the following abstract of his scheme : ^ — 



I. AVES OARINAT^. 



1. Aves aereag. 



A. Rapaces. — a. Accipitres — Vultur, Falco, Sagittarius. 



h. Strix. 



B. Hymenopodes. — a. Chelidones : 



a. C. nocturnse — Caprimulgus. 



j3. C. diurnse — Hirundo. 

 b. Oscines : 



a. 0. conirostres — Loxia, Fringilla, Eviberiza, Tan- 

 gara. 



p. 0. tenuirostres — Alauda, Motacilla, Muscicapa, 

 Todus, Lanius, Ampelis, Turdus, Paradisea, 

 Buphaga, Sturnus, Oriolus, Gracula, Coracias, 

 Corvus, Pipra ?, Panis, Sitta, Certhiie qusedam. 



C. Mellisugse. — Trochilus, Certhiw et Vp'upse plurimse. 



D. Dendrocolaptse. — Picus, Yunx. 



E. Breviliugues. — a. TJpupa ; h. Ispidm. 



F. Levirostres. — a. Raniphastus, Scythrops 1 ; b. Psittacus, 



G. Coccyges. — Cuculus, Trogon, Bucco, Crotophaga. 



2. Aves terrestres. 



A. Columha. 



B. Gallinse. 



3. Aves aquaticae. 



A. Odontorhynchi : a. Boscades — Anas ; h. Mcrgus ; c. Phcenicopterus. 



B. Platyrhynchi. — Pelicanus, Phaeton, Plotus. 



C. Aptenodytes. 



D. Urinatrices : a. Cepplii — Alca, CoZymSi pedibus palmatis ; b. Podiccps, 



Golymbi pedibus lobatis. 



E. StenorhjTichi. — Procellaria, Diomedea, Larus, Sterna, Rhyncliops. 



4. Aves palustres. 



A. Rusticolae : a. Phalarides — Rallus, Fulica, Parra ; h. Limosugse — Numenius, 



Scolopax, Tringa, Gharadrius, Recurvirostra. 



B. Grallse : a. Erodii — Ardeie imgue intermedio serrato, Cancroma ; b. Pelargi 



■ — Ciconia, Mycteria, Tantali quidam, Scopus, Platalea ; c. Gerani — 

 Ardew cristatse, Orues, Psophia. 



C. Otis. 



II. Aves RATiTiE. — Struthio, 



^ The names of the genera are, he tells us, for the most part those of Linnsens, 

 as being the best-known, though not the best. To some of the Linneean genera he 



