Recently published Ornithological Works. 379 



which are absolutely restricted to the Neotropical Region. 

 These are theDendrocolapticlye, Formicariiclse, Conopophagidse, 

 and Pteroptochidie. In the present volume are catalogued 

 about 4482 specimens of Tracheophonce, as belonging to the 

 Collection of the British Museum. These have been referred 

 to 92 genera and 531 species, leaving only 28 species known 

 to the author, but not yet represented in the Collection. The 

 " types " in this portion of the series are especially numerous 

 and amount to no less than 172. 



With the present volume is concluded the account of the 

 great Passerine series, which was commenced in June 1877, 

 by the issue of Mr. Sharpe's catalogue of the Colseomorphse 

 (vol. iii.), and has taken up thirteen volumes. 



74. Seebohm on the Classification of Birds. 



[Classification of Birds : an attempt to diagnose the Subclasses, Orders, 

 Suborders, and some cf the Families of existing Birds. By Henry See- 

 bohm. London : 1890. It. H. Porter. 54 pp.] 



For several years past Mr. Seebohm, as is well known to 

 all readers of ' The Ibis,' has devoted much time and atten- 

 tion to the study of the principal characters upon which the 

 classification of Birds has been based by recent systematists. 

 As the results of his investigations, Mr. Seebohm has contri- 

 buted to this Journal several papers upon the diagnostic 

 characters of the orders of Birds and upon their component 

 families {cf. Ibis, 1888, p. 415 ; 1889, p. 92; 1890, pp. 29, 

 200). Having now finished his general survey, he has put 

 his observations together, and shows in the present work how 

 birds may be separated by absolute differential characters 

 into 36 " suborders/' He also gives two alternative schemes 

 for the combination of these ft suborders " into " orders " and 

 "subclasses." Putting aside these proposed combinations, 

 to both of which, we think, serious objections may be made, 

 we should say that Mr. Seebohm is, as we believe, the first 

 systematist who has succeeded in dividing Birds into a 

 tolerably natural series of families separable by absolutely 

 diagnostic characters. These characters are now presented 

 to us in the case of each suborder in an original and highly 



