294 Recent Literature. \_t^^\ 



ter have been omitted. Dr. Coues invented the term ' aptosochromatism,' 

 and was peculiarly sensitive to criticism of its significance and use, as 

 from time to time defined and applied bj him, he finally looking upon 

 such criticism almost as a personal grievance. This new exploitation of 

 the subject abounds in positive misstatements and erroneous inferences. 



Pages 113-235 are apparently from the original plates, without change. 

 The ' Artificial Keys ' and ' Tabular View ' (pp. 236-2.:] i) have been recast 

 and considerably modified, through changes in the names of groups and 

 the adinission of one new order, 6 new suborders, 7 new families, and the 

 reduction of the subfamilies from 77 to 71, through the raising of 6 sub- 

 families to the grade of families. This of course implies considerable 

 change in the classification followed in Part III, in comparison with pre- 

 vious editions. 



Part III, ' Systematic Synopsis of North American Birds,' has been 

 rewritten and greatly altered, not only through the admission in their 

 proper sequence of the many species and subspecies added to the North 

 American list of birds during the sixteen years between 18S4 and 1900, but 

 through many changes in classification and nomenclature involving the 

 status of subgeneric and generic groups, as well as the status and relation- 

 ships of the higher groups. As an illustration of the general character 

 of these changes, we maj' take the family Tiu'didae. In the 18S4, and 

 later editions down to the present, it included six subfamilies, as follows : 

 TurdinjE, Miminte, Cinclinse, Saxicolinae, Regulinse, and Polioptilin£e. 

 In the present edition the Turdidie include the two subfamilies Turdinse 

 (rrrTurdinte, 1884), and MyiadestinK, formerly placed under Ampelidae ; 

 while, of the other subfamilies, Mimime is transferred to the Troglody- 

 tid?e ; CinclincC is raised to the rank of a family ; Saxicolinae is merged in 

 Turdince; Regulinae and Polioptilinse are placed in a separate family 

 Sylviidse. There are other similar changes in other families of the 

 Passeres, involving new associations of groups. Among changes of 

 names, it may be noted that Sylvicolidce now becomes Mniotillid^, — 

 only one among many changes in the names of higher groups, including 

 those of all grades from subfamily to order. 



To continue the comparison further, all of the species included in the 

 Turdinae of the earlier editions were placed under the single genus Turdus, 

 divided into the three subgenera Turdtts, Merula, and Hesperocichla. In 

 the present edition Merula^ Hesperocichla, Turdus, and Hylocichla stand 

 as full genera, and Saxicola, Sialia, and Cyanecula are transferred from 

 other associations to the Turdinse. The species and subspecies formerly 

 placed under Ttirdus are now distributed among four genera, and the 

 number and status of the species and subspecies are in conformity with 

 the A. O. U. Check-List as it stood at the time the revision of the manu- 

 script for the new ' Key ' was completed. 



When the 1884 'Key' was published there was no A. O. U. ' Check- 

 List of North American Birds,' nor any A. O. U. ' Code of Nomenclature.' 

 It therefore reflected the close of a preceding period in the history of 



