THE OSPKEY. 



89 



no family or g'eneric diagnoses. Baird, Brewer 

 and Ridg-way's "History of North American 

 Bird^^" was a threat advance, inasmuch as system 

 was introduced and for the time quite well de- 

 veloped. The families and the genera were, on 

 the whole, well diagnosed. Thus generalization 

 was applied to the classificatory data compre- 

 hended in the volumes. But there was no gen- 

 eralization of the biographical information. 

 That information was only given in the form of 

 observations <in the individual species. I dislike 

 to say more, but I feel bound to add that there is 

 a certain appearance of crudity in the com- 

 pilation of the biographies that has been always 

 repellent to me. The author who as.sumed the 

 task of digesting the biographical data was a 

 much less able man than his collaborateurs, 

 Baird and Ridgway, who alone assumed the sys- 

 tematic portion of the work. He did not attempt 

 to generalize or generize (pardon the word — it is 

 needed) his facts. 



HESIK.^^BILITY OF GEXERIZED BIOGRAPHIES. 



One of the features that would be most desir" 

 able in the new Avifauna would be a recapitula- 

 tion of the habits common to all the species of 

 a genus under the generic caption. In fact, a 

 summary of all the ecological features charac- 

 teristic of the combined species, and an indica- 

 tion as to the range of difference or divergence, 

 would fill a want that is really often felt by 

 some at least. The mere attempt to make such 

 a summary, or to criticize, would, itself, clarify 

 the mind and impart a more vivid perception of 

 what may be known in a dormant way. but not 

 appreciated in its bearings on a given subject. 

 Most of the physiological characteristics of 

 birds are common to all the species of a genus. 

 This fact was appreciated Icjng ago. As far 

 back as 1778 dear old Gilbert White incidentally 

 directed attention to it in the Natural History 

 and Antiquities of Selborne. In his "Letter 

 xlii" to Daines Barrington, he urged the desira- 

 bility of learning to tell birds in the bush as 

 well as in the hand, and claimed that the genus 

 to which a bird belongs might be recognized in 

 most cases at a distance. He remarked. "A 

 good ornithologist should be able to distinguish 

 birds b\' their air as well as by their colours and 

 shape; on the g'round as well as on the wing; 

 and in the bush as well as in the hand. For, 

 though it must not be .said that every spei'ics of 

 birds has a manner peculiar to itself, yet there 

 is .somewhat in nio^it genera at least, that at first 

 sight discriminates them, and enables a judi- 

 cious observer to pronounce upon them with 

 some certainty. Put a bird in motion, 



■ et vera incessu patuit ' ." 



What was true in White's day is true to a 

 much greater degree in ours. Then the genera 

 of birds were often heterogeneous assemblages 

 and not natural aggregates of species — certain- 

 ly not when all the extra-European species were 

 considered. Now they are so strictly limited 

 that, for physiological purposes, if for no other, 

 they are little more than diversiform species, 

 even when the variants of a genus are very 

 numerous. 



I have frequently desired to know to what ex- 

 tent certain habits were peculiar to species or 

 common to all, and in order to do so had to 



search through the biographies of all the 

 species, and even when I had finished the task 

 had to indulge in much assumption, owing to 

 the lack of definite information. In fact, the 

 comparative method had not been followed, and 

 toi> often it looked as if the species under re- 

 view had been regarded as a being which 

 was unlike any other that existed. This is not 

 as it should be. The various biographies should 

 be prepared on a regular plan and the data 

 given in a uniform sequence for each species, 

 and a summary furnished for each genus. The 

 deficiencies in i)ur knowledge could then be per- 

 ceived at once, and .some one of the numerous 

 observers mig-ht be incited to fill the void. A 

 greater interest would be imparted to the sub- 

 ject, and many students who do not know what 

 to observe would be glad to learn how to direct 

 their energies. 



I>KOI'OS.\L FOU I't'BI.IC.VTION. 



Tlie publication of such a work could be com- 

 menced in a few months. It need not be carried 

 on in a systematic manner, that is, in a regular 

 series, such as is g'iven by the celebrated Check- 

 List of the American Ornithologists' Unioi'. 

 We would have many precedents for a contraiy 

 course. We could avail ourselves of the re- 

 searches of many, and take up for publication 

 g'enera and species to which attention would be 

 given at any time. The first two American 

 ornithologies were published on similar lines. 

 So also have been many European works, and 

 notably Dresser's great work on the Birds of 

 Eurcipe. But I would not altogether leave the 

 descriptions to be bound in such incoherent 

 fashion. The genera might be published as 

 monographs, each with its own pagination but 

 on the inside of the page, and when the work, 

 or any volume should be completed, a title page 

 and table of contents could be supplied with in- 

 dications for numbering on the outside of the 

 pages. Dresser's work, already referred to, is 

 an example of such a mode, and George Robert 

 Gray's .great work on the Genera of Birds is 

 another. 



We might begin the new History of North 

 American Birds in connection with The OSI'KEY, 

 giving it in the form of monthly appendixes, 

 which mig-ht be bound up with each volume of 

 the periodical at its end, or reserved and filed 

 for binding- as an independent work. Provision 

 could be made for the accommodation of both 

 parties — those who would prefer to retain it as 

 part of the volumes and those who would rath- 

 er separate the monographs for an independent 

 work. When completed, systematic as well as 

 alphabetical indexes could be supplied for The 

 Osi'REV, as well as title pages, tables of contents 

 and indexes for the independent work. 



CI,.\SSIFICATION TO BE .\DOPTED. 



The general classification might be left to the 

 last, and thus the opportunity might be enjoyed 

 of availing ourselves of the latest utterances of 

 science. These. I hope, will emanate from the 

 American Ornithologists' Union. I should be 

 willing to accept the outcome of the united 

 wi.sdom of the Union as being as close an ap- 

 proximation to the truth as was feasible for the 

 time. Such agreement, it is true, would be 

 rather a compromise or agreement by conven- 



