450 Recenily published Ornitholoylcal IVorks. 



some slight modifications/' We venture to suggest that a 

 few more alterations might have been well introduced. To 

 place the " Columbae " under the order " Charadriiformes," 

 tlie "Psittaci^^ among the "Cuculiformes/' and the "Striges" 

 in the"Coraciiformes" cannot be justified even in obedience to 

 such a great authority as Dr. Gadow. If there are " Orders " 

 at all in the " Class " of Birds, the first two of these groups 

 are entitled to that rank; and in our opinion the " Striges^' 

 have also equal claims to such a position, whether external or 

 anatomical characters are considered. Any tyro in ornitho- 

 logy would recognize a Pigeon, but it would be difficult to 

 make him understand its association in the same group as 

 Gulls and Plovers. Again, there can be no doubt about the 

 low position of the Penguins, with their continuous plumage 

 and incompletely-fused metatarsals. They should go below 

 the Colymbiformes, not above them. Nor can we allow that 

 the Tinamous have any business above the highly-organized 

 Birds of Prey. They are " semi-Ratites " in spite of their 

 sternum, and should remain at the bottom of the Carinate 

 series. 



Mr. Evans has rightly gone, in the majority of cases, to the 

 most recent authority for information on the group treated 

 of, for it is impossible for one mind to grasp such a multitude 

 of particulars. But in the case of the Cranes he seems to have 

 missed consulting Mr. Blaauw's Monograph, having included 

 in his list such untenable species as Grus I'llfordi and 

 Baltarica gihbericeps. We are glad to see that Mr. Evans 

 has given full family-rank to the Hoopoes (Upupidse), which, 

 although no doubt closely allied to the Horn bills, have every 

 claim to it. We wish he had done the same in the case of the 

 Honey-guides (Indicatoridse) , for these birds, although coming 

 near the Barbets (as first pointed out 'Ibis,' 1870, p. 176), 

 should be recognized as forming a quite distinct family. 



As regards the illustrations in the present volume, Mr. 

 Lodge's work is good, and we should have been glad to have 

 seen more of it. We also recognize some familiar objects 

 in a series of wood-engravings by Smit (from 'Nature'). 

 These blocks were prepared by that well-known artist, from 



