96 BRITISH BIRDS. 



As to nomenclature, the Editor does not seem to have grasped 

 the significance of the use of trinomials. It is stated that "the 

 use of trinomials has been avoided except in the rare cases 

 where two races of the same species occur in this country." 

 Yet the Jay and the Goldfinch are given only two names 

 in the headings, although it is stated that immigrants from the 

 Continent occur ; the distinct Scottish Crossbill is recognised 

 in the text but is treated with the Common Crossbill under the 

 name of Loxia curvirostra, L. ; in the case of the Bullfinch, 

 although the typical form has fairly frequently occurred and 

 the British race is recognised in the text, the bird is named in 

 the heading Pyrrhula pyrrhula (L.), while, on the other hand, 

 the Redpolls are treated trinomially. This is inconsistent as well 

 as inaccurate, for if the local races are recognised, then why put 

 them under names which belong to the typical races ? It should 

 now be obvious that it is of the utmost importance to recognise 

 the differences between some of our breeding-birds and those 

 of the same species which breed on the Continent, and if we 

 are to advance, it behoves the authors of works dealing with 

 the birds of these islands to emphasize this point and to treat 

 of these races separately under trinomials. 



Turning again to the main feature of the book — the accounts 

 of the habits — we have first some pleasing essays on the Crow 

 family by the Editor, who has had the wisdom to depart some- 

 what from his OAvn plan and to treat of the Raven and the 

 Chough separately and the other species in pairs ! The bulk 

 of this " section " is, however, devoted to the " Finches " 

 by Mr. Edmund Selous, whose seventy- three pages are more 

 in the style of a diffuse and extravagantly worded magazine- 

 article than a serious work, and further criticism of them 

 is, we think, unneedful. 



The illustrations in black are mostly from useful photo- 

 graphs showing the structure and position of nests. The 

 coloured illustrations by various artists are for the most part 

 pleasing and fairly accurate. H. F. W. 



