740 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



89. Hartert on Palcearctic Birds. 



[Die VS^el der palaarktischen Fauna. Systematische Uebersicht der 

 in Europa, Nord-Asien und der Mittelmeerregion vorkoinmenden Vogel. 

 Von Dr. Ernst TIartert. Heft vi. (Doppelheft). Seite 641-832. Mit 10 

 Abbildungen. Berlin, June 1910.] 



The issue of the sixth part of Dr. Hartert's * Review of 

 the Birds of the Palaearctic Region ' completes the first 

 volume of this important work, and affords us an opportunity 

 of making a few remarks upon the new school of Trino- 

 nrialism, of which Dr. Hartert is one of the principal and 

 most active champions. 



Some hundred and fifty years ago the great Linnaeus 

 invented the famous plan that all animals and plants should 

 be designated by two names only — one that of the genus, 

 and the other that of the species. This excellent scheme 

 was at once adopted by naturalists, and has been followed 

 by all writers, with very few exceptions, until recent years, 

 when the discovery was made that many species, especially 

 those spread over an extensive area, might be divided, by 

 more or less stable characters, into local forms, or, as they 

 are now usually called, " subspecies." In order to designate 

 the "subspecies" shortly a third or "subspecitic" name 

 was attached to the generic and specific terms, and the 

 " binomial" system of Linnaeus was thus converted into a 

 " trinomial " system. Moreover, if the practice of attaching 

 the name of the authority for the specific term be retained 

 (as is done by Dr. Hartert), all species which are divisible 

 into subspecies will have four names instead of the two of 

 the Linneau System. 



In spite of this defect (as we consider it), Trinomialism 

 has secured many adherents, especially in Germany and the 

 United States, and the number of " subspecies " is increasing 

 rapidly day by day. No careful student of animals can 

 deny that subspecies really do exist in Nature, but the 

 question is whether it is advisable to give them a special 

 name. The late Dr. Sharpe w;is, as we all know, greatly 

 opposed to this being done, and, in his ' Hand-list,' has 



