136 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



ture of our native birds ; but such a meeting, were it to take place, would 

 disperse without accomplishing the object in view, unless indeed its members 

 were placed on the Bass Rock, and interdicted fire and food until they had 

 settled all their differences, and sworn perpetual friendship. Even then, 

 some malicious Celt, capable ot subsisting a month on dulse and tangles, with 

 an occasional raw Limpet or Mussel, might hold out until, rather than be 

 starved, the philosophers should leave the birds to him to do with them as he 

 pleased. In sober earnest, it is impossible to remedy the acknowledged de- 

 fects in nomenclature, so as to render it universally acceptable. Some per- 

 sons who do their best to render the subject still more intricate, are extreme- 

 ly sensitive on the point of uniformity; but, in my opinion, however much 

 they who are abitious of being legislators in this matter may desire conformi- 

 ty to their views, there will always be more to spurn the yoke than to yield 

 to authority, which is gi-adually flilling to its proper standard. In fact, no 

 two ornithologists have ever used the same names for five hundred birds ; 

 nor could two be found who should employ the same nomenclature in describ- 

 ing even the birds of Britain. There is really no cause of regret in all this : 

 were there no differences in politics, religion, and science, the world would 

 probably be much worse than it is. I am therefore under the necessity of 

 using my own discretion in bestowing English, Gaelic, and Latin names on 

 the birds which I propose to bescribe ; and I request that my readers scru- 

 ple not to reject whatever they find indicative of bad taste or bad feeling." — 

 p. 10. 



This being the opinion of our author, the reader would certainly 

 be but ill prepared to meet with the following passage, which we 

 are at a loss to reconcile with tlie above observations. 



A reason may here be assigned for altering the common name of this bird 

 (the Red Grouse). The English name of Tctrao being Grouse, and that of 

 Lagopus being Ptarmigan, it is obviously impro])er to bestow the ajipellation 

 of Red Grouse on a species of the latter genus. But it may be said, the dis- 

 tinctive ' Red' ought to be retained. I think not. Lagopus saliccli is more 

 properly red, L. Scolicus is more brown than red, L. chicritis is grey in au- 

 tumn, L. rupeslris yellow in summer, and L. leucurus has a white tail, in 

 which respect it differs from all the rest. Therefore I name these birds — 

 L. saliccti. Red Ptarmigan ; L. Scoticus, Brown Ptarmigan ; L. cinrrius. Grey 

 Ptarmigan ; L. rupestris, Yellow or Rock Ptarmigan ; and L. leucurus, White- 

 tailed Ptarmigan." 



We should not have been sorry had similar reasoning been carried 

 throughout the volume ; but as this has not been done, part of the 

 above passage appears somewhat out of place. In a few instances 

 we find Latin names altered where the former designations were 

 considered faulty. In one case, however, the change seems unne- 

 cessary; we allude to Coccothraustes alrogularis being substituted 

 for C. vulgaris, while a name, in our opinion, equally good with the 

 former already existed, namely, C. cratsegus, Blyth. 



At page 7 a sneer is indulged at the doctrine of analogies of Mr. 

 Swainson, which appears to us much less ridiculous than IMr. Mac- 

 Gillivray would have us believe. Every one admits the more strik- 

 ing analogies between animals of different classes, but those which 

 are less obvious of course require much more study than can be de- 

 voted to them by every one. 



We have expressed partial disapprobation both at the system and 



