Recently published Ornithological Works. 493 



presented us with a most useful and instructive essay in the 

 present work, few, we think, will applaud him for the some- 

 what heterodox practices he has introduced in it, both in 

 systematic arrangement and nomenclature. It is certainly 

 surprising to be told that in some of the Turdidse structural 

 characters " have no generic value at all,^' and that it is 

 ""colour or pattern which indicate near relationship/^ If 

 such be the case, the author is hardly justified, on his own 

 principles, it seems to us, in uniting the Nightingales, Robins, 

 and Bluethroats into one genus (for it cannot certainly be 

 said that their pattern or colours are alike), or in separating 

 Hypolais from Acrocephalus. As regards nomenclature, as 

 our readers are Avell aware, we have always opposed the 

 " raking up of old and little-used names,^^ which has been 

 such a favourite pursuit of some ornithologists of late years. 

 But we cannot go quite so far as Mr. Seebohm, and say that 

 the specific term to be employed is always to be that used by 

 the majority of writers. 



The Turdidee are divided by Mr. Seebohm into two sub- 

 families, Sylviinse and Turdinae. Of the former he recognizes 

 104, of the latter 237 species. The following species are 

 described as new or have new names assigned to them : — 

 Cettia ussuriunus (lege ussuriana) from Amoorland, Turdus 

 chiguancoides (!) from Senegambia, Merula bourdilloni from 

 Travancore, Mimocichla bryanti from the Bahamas ( = M. 

 plumbea, Baird et Cory), Catharus birchali from Columbia 

 (intermediate between C. melpomene and C. aurantiirostris) , 

 Saxicola lugentoides (!) from Sennaar, ^S. joemca from Persia, 

 and S. sennaariensis from Sennaar. Besides these, a large 

 form of Blackbird, from Kashmir and Turkestan, is named 

 Merula maxima in the Appendix, and a ^' more olive-brown 

 and larger " form of Turdus phceopygus from Tobago is pro- 

 posed to be called Turdus phcBopygoides (!) "■ if subspecifically 

 distinct." We are sorry that Mr. Seebohm should give any 

 countenance to the plan of naming species hypothetically, as 

 also to the system of inventing barbarous terminations in 

 " ides." Both these practices are, in our opinion, very ob- 

 jectionable. 



