23 



from Cabanis's Strisores he also takes away the Coliida and Musophagidae, 

 and adds them to the Scansores. 



With Reichenow the Strisores do not disappear as an order, but, 

 following the Momotida and Todida, are merged in the Coraciidae (with 

 which the EurylcemidfE are also classified, in the neighbourhood of 

 Eurystomus) . The Podargina make up the second subfamily of the Cora- 

 ciid(S; and then the Strisoi'es, containing the Caprimulgidce, Cypselidce, 

 and Trochilida, appear as an order between the Tnsessores [Bucerotlda, 

 Alcedinidce, Meropidce, Upupidce, and Coraciidce) and the Clamatores. 

 The latter commence with the Ampelidce, with the subfamilies Phyto- 

 tominee, Amj)elince, and Lipauginae, and follow the order of the ' Museum 

 Heineanum ' to the Hypocnemidce, which contains the Pittas and the 

 subfamily Myiotherince. The Oscines are by no means the same as in 

 the ' Museum Heineanum/ and many changes are introduced. The 

 Picarice of modern systematists form merely an order of the Arboricola, 

 equal in value to the Clamatores and Oscines ; and in this arrangement 

 some seemingly natural families are widely separated, as, for instance, 

 the Paradiseidce from the Corvidce &c., while the arrangement of the 

 Oscinine families seems to me a little unnatural. 



What will be of most interest to Ornithologists generally will be the 

 phylogenetic tree which the author has given in his introduction. This, by 

 the courtesy of Dr. Reichenow, I am permitted to introduce (see p. 23) . 



The year 1884 was signalized by the appearance of Professor Elliott 

 Coues's revised edition of the ' Key to North- American Birds,' a work 

 the author of which America may be proud to claim as one of her 

 children. It is still the Ornithologist's vade-mecum, and the practical 

 portion of it, which forms the best introduction now extant to the study 

 of birds, has recently been re-issued as a separate work by Messrs. 

 Macmillan, so that it is now within the reach of every student. As the 

 special portion of the work deals principally with American birds, and 

 as many great families are unrepresented in the Nearctic Region, the 

 efforts of the author have been chiefly directed towards the elucidation 

 of the Avifauna of North America. The " Keys " also are avowedly 

 artificial ; but the many hints given throughout the book, and the 

 author's intimate acquaintance with his subject, render it a most 

 important text-book for the student of the classification of birds. The 

 next great American text-book, the ' Standard Natural History,' owes 

 much to the influence of Professor Coues's teaching. 



This ' Standard Natural History ' (Boston : Cassino and Co.) was 

 issued in 1885. It was edited by Mr. John Sterling Kingsley, and the 

 volume devoted to the Birds was apparently intrusted to the care of 

 Dr. L. Stejneger, a Scandinavian naturalist who has settled in America. 

 The diligence which he has shown in unearthing the work of forgotten 



