54 



and Psophiida, which are placed near the Gruida, while the Pala- 

 medeid(B are removed from the neighbourhood of the Anseres, and 

 placed between the Rails and the Cranes. The authors seem also to 

 incline to the belief that the Struthious birds are not so remotely- 

 connected with the Game-birds (this Mr. Seebohra has also hinted), 

 and they arrange their " Brevipennes " to follow the Rasores. Here 

 may I suggest to Dr. Heine that if he wishes to preserve his repu- 

 tation as the most exacting purist of the day, he must write Ortalis 

 (nominative) instead of Ortalida (accusative), as has been pointed out 

 by Dr. Henry Wharton (Ibis, 1879, p. 450) ? The Deserticola of 

 Reichenow in 1882 are now included in the Order Rasores. They 

 formerly consisted of the Pteroclidce, Thinocoridce, and Ortygidce (Hemi- 

 podes) and they now appear at the head of the Rasores, following the 

 Pigeons and being followed by the Partridges. The Crypturi are only 

 considered to be a family of Rasores. 



The Raptatores are divided into the following families, Strigida, 

 Falconida, and Vulturidce, much as in Reiclienow^s System of 1882, but 

 the disposition of the Subfamilies is different. The Falconida have eight 

 Subfamilies : — 1. Accipitrina (to which the following genera, which I 

 have placed in other Subfamilies, are said to belong, viz., Rypornis, 

 Asturina, Buteola, Leucopter'nis, Asturinula, Harpagus, and Herpeto- 

 tlieres); 2. Circina; 3. Falconincs; 4. Milvince; 5. Buteoni?ia; 6. Aqui- 

 liiice (wherein occurs Pandion) ; 7. SpizaetincB (with Haipyhaliaetus, 

 Morphnus, and Thrasaetus, which I consider Buteonine birds) ; 8. Poly- 

 borincB (with which are marshalled Heterospisias, HypomorjjJmus, and 

 Erythrocnema) . 



It may be mentioned that the authors of the ' Nomenclator '' do not 

 seem to be acquainted with some of the recent American works, or they 

 would have superseded my generic names of (Enops and Erythrocnema 

 by Rhinogryphus and Antenor of Ridgway, for when, to my disadvantage, 

 the first part of my first volume of the ' Catalogue of Birds ' was printed 

 off, and my names could not be changed, Professor Ridgway suddenly 

 brought out a paper which superseded most of my work as far as 

 American Birds of Prey were concerned. 



It would be impossible to close this portion of my subject without 

 a reference to the energetic labours of Dr. Shufeldt in America, 

 combined with those of Mr. F. A. Lucas, A. Jefferies, and others who 

 are working with success at the osteology and comparative anatomy of 

 birds. 



English Ornithologists may be forgiven if they say of some of their 

 number that " whom the Gods love, die young,^^ for the inestimable 

 loss which Ornithology sustained in the deaths of Garrod and Forbes 

 was still further accentuated by the death, at the early age of 24, of 

 Mr. Richard Wray, whose papers on Avian Pterylography prove him to 



