^JgJ 1 . 11 ] Recent Literature. l6l 



treated as full species. Gelochelidon anglica (Montague, 1813) is pre- 

 ferred to nilotica Hasselq., 1762 (this edition of Hasselquist, by the way, 

 is not cited), apparently because the date of nilotica is prior to 1766, since 

 no names appear to be countenanced that antedate the 12th (1766) edition 

 of Linne's ' Systema Naturae.' Sterna fluviatilis Naum., 1S19. is pre- 

 ferred to .S. kirundo Linn., 1758, and 5. niacrura Naum., 1S19, to S. par- 

 adiscea Briinnich, 1 7^4, probably for a similar reason. Cabot's Tern is 

 regarded as not separable from the Old World form, for which Mr. Saun- 

 ders prefers the name cantiaca to the earlier sandvicensis. The American 

 Herring Gull is also considered as not entitled to separation from the Euro- 

 pean .; but Mr. Saunders's remarks on the subject are not likely to change 

 the opinions of those who hold to a different view, since no new points are 

 adduced, and the fact of an average and fairly constant difference between 

 the two forms is admitted. Larus barrovianus Ridgw. is referred to L. 

 glaucus. but the other recently described North American species of 

 Larus have passed the present ordeal unscathed. The case is somewhat 

 different with Rissa, of which only two species, R. tridactyla and 

 R. brevirostris, are recognized: the slight differences in size and the 

 relative development of the diminutive hind-toe being found inconstant 

 for the two other forms that have sometimes been recognized as kotzebeui 

 and policaris. 



Among the little group of North American Skuas the changes in 

 nomenclature are confusing and disheartening. Yov reasons already 

 given, in place of Megalestris skua (Bri'mn., 1764) we have M. catarrhactes 

 (Linn., 1766) : in Stercora rius the Long-tailed Jaeger receives the name 

 parasiticus Linn., while crepidattts Banks is applied to the parasiticus of 

 the A. O. U. Check-List. This of course is in accordance with views 

 long held by Mr. Saunders on the subject, but against the'general concen- 

 sus of opinion. 



Passing now to the Tubinares, Mr. Salvin divides them into four 

 families, — Procellariidae, Puffinidae, Pelecanoididae, and Diomedeidse, — 

 their constituents being fairly indicated bv the names employed. The 

 109 species recognized are arranged under 25 genera. The three gen- 

 era most numerously represented are Oceanodroma, with 12 species, 

 1'nffinus with 20 species, and . Estrelata with 30 species. The following 

 three species are described as new : Oceanodroma tristrami (ex- Stej- 

 neger, MS., p. 354), Pelecanoides exsul (p. 43S), Diomedea chionoptera 

 (p. 443), and Thalassogeron layardi (p. 450). 



As regards North American species, we note several important changes 

 of nomenclature. Thus Pu/finus gravis (O'Reilly, 1S1S) supercedes 

 P. major (Faber, 1S22) ; Puffinus borealis Cory is treated as a pure 

 synonym of P. kuhli '; P. opist/iomelas Coues replaces P. gavia, which is 

 considered as restricted to " New Zealand and Australian Seas"; on the 

 other hand, P. auduboni is regarded as not separable from P. obseurus. 

 Puffinus stricklandi Ridgway is referred to Proccllaria grisea Gmelin, and 

 hence becomes Puffinus griseus, the Atlantic and Pacific birds being con- 



