444 Recently published Ornithological Works. 



187 specieSj is divided into 59 genera. It was^ no doubt, 

 necessary to bring the generic forms more nearly into parallel 

 ranks, but such a serious increase of generic terms as is here 

 adopted makes a severe tax on the ornithologist's memory. We 

 observe, with some concern, that all the names used here for the 

 British Crakes differ from those adopted in the B. O. U. List. 



We say — Dr. S. says — 



Porzana maruetta. Porzana porzana. 



bailloni. intermedia. 



parva. Zapornia parva. 



Crex pratensis. Crex crex. 



Dr. Sharpe having committed himself to the '' Scomber- 

 scomber " principle, we cannot complain of him for carrying 

 it through. But the change of name of Baillon's Crake 

 seems to us to be entirely uncalled for. No man on earth 

 could decide positively what Hermann's Rallus intermedius 

 (Obs. Zool. i. p. 198) may have been. The name should 

 therefore be passed over, as it has been by all prior system- 

 atists, as ^'uncertain." It would also, as we believe, "pass 

 the wit of man " to discover generic characters to separate 

 the two little Crakes, which have been constantly confounded 

 togetlier. We therefore prefer to adhere to the nomencla- 

 ture of the B. O. U. List. 



The Cranes and Bustards constitute the great bulk of the 

 Alectorides. Dr. Sharpe catalogues 19 species of the former 

 and 30 of the latter family. The Cranes, at any rate in a 

 living state, are birds familiar to us for many years. But 

 we are unable to see any good reason for dividing generically 

 Limnof/cranus, Sarcogeranus, Antigone, and Pseudogeranus 

 from Grits, though the characters given by Dr. Sharpe may 

 well serve to distinguish the groups of species. Bugeranus 

 and the remaining three genera are easily definable. As 

 regards the species recognized by Dr. Sharpe we have also 

 much doubt (speaking only from our observations of living 

 birds) as to the separation of Grus lilfordi from G. cinerea, 

 of G. mexicana from G. candensis, of G. collaris from G. anti- 

 gone, and of Balearica gihbericeps from B. chrysopelargus. 



