44 



Last year (1890) Mr. H. Seebohm published his ' Classification 

 of Birds; an attempt to diagnose the Subclasses, Orders, Suborders, 

 and some of the Families of existing Birds,' Several papers on classifi- 

 cation in ' The Ibis ' were contemporaneous with or paved the way for 

 this completed scheme. Like Dr. Stejneger, Mr. Seebohm gives 

 diagnoses for every one of his divisions ; and he arranges his classifi- 

 cation in a most convenient tabular form, by which can be seen at a 

 glance the diagnostic characters of each Suborder, so that it is possible 

 to see to what extent these characters are shared by the other Sub- 

 orders of Birds. 



Mr. Seebohm discards the fossil birds entirely, differing in this 

 respect from Prof. Fiirbringer. I do not agree with him altogether, 

 but I reproduce his reasons : — 



" Once for all it must Le uoted that auy attempt to bring all fossil birds into the 

 same sj^stem of classification as those now living is bound to fail. Between every two 

 closely-allied groups of existing birds there must have been birds now extinct, the 

 common ancestors of both, most probably differing from both, and partly resembling 

 both, and incapable of being classified with either. To encumber the classification of 

 existing birds with a few scattered links in endless chains of intergrading forms can 

 only create confusion. The classification of fossil birds is a most interesting inquiry, 

 and might be called the study of a vertical section of the bird-life which has existed 

 in past geological ages. The classification of existing birds is the study of a horizontal 

 section of the great bird-mass of the world, and ought to form a different and distinct 

 system confined to the horizon of the present time." 



He then divides the Class 'Aves' into six Subclasses, 14 Orders, 

 and 36 Suborders, as follows : — 



Subclass. 



PASSERIFORMES 



FALCONIFORMES .. 



CORAOIIFORMES 



Order. 



i. Pico-Passehes 



iv. E.APTOEES 



V. PSITTACI 



vi. PiCAEI.E. 



-! 



(^ vii. Cathaetes*. 



Suborder. 



1. Passeres. 



2. Eurylsemi. 



3. Trochili. 



4. Scansores. 



5. Upupse. 



6. Trogoues. 



7. Columbse. 



ii. COLUMB^ 



... „ f B. Musophagi. 



111. Coccyges ■{ ^ „ ^. " 



L 9. Cuculi. 



r 10. Serpentarii. 



11. Accipitres. 



12. Striges. 



13. Psittaci. 



14. Halcyones 



15. Coracise. 



16. Bucerotes. 



17. Cathartes. 



* Afterwards changed to Mimogypes. 



