XV11 



EXPLANATION OF THE PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED 



NOTES 



THE Notes that appear at the beginning of the chapters under the head of each 

 species are arranged on a uniform plan, as follows : 



Nomenclature. To the English name is appended the scientific name in 

 accordance with the rules of the Fifth International Zoological Congress, but where 

 this differs from the well-known names adopted by Howard Saunders, the latter 

 have been added in brackets. The use of trinomials has been avoided except in 

 the rare cases where two races of the same species occur in this country. The 

 authority for the scientific name is given, but where applicable only to the specific 

 and not to the generic name, is given in brackets, e.g. Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus). 

 The popular names are also given, to which are added the principal corresponding 

 French, German, and Italian terms, these, with English, being recognised as the 

 four international languages by the International Ornithological Congress. There 

 appears to be no generally accepted rule for the accentuation of the Latin names. 

 For the name of the genera and species, that adopted in Howard Saunders's 

 Manual has been followed, and is indicated by accents, e.g. Corvus corone. In 

 respect to the names of the Families and Subfamilies, the usage of the British 

 Museum is to accent the termination -idae, but not -inae, e.g. Corvidae (pro- 

 nouncing the i as in " side ") and Corvlnae (pronouncing the i as in " pin "). The 

 Continental practice, which is tending to become general, is to sound the t in 

 both terminations as ee. 



Descriptions. Of the male, the characters strictly essential for identification 

 alone being given, and those most distinctive of the species being placed first ; of 

 the female, in so far only as she differs from the male ; and of the young, up to 

 the first autumn moult (unless otherwise stated), in so far only as they differ from 

 one or both parents. The autumn and winter plumage of the adults and young 

 is not given unless the alteration is marked enough to make identification difficult 

 without further information. In connection with these descriptions should be 

 read Mr. W. P. Py craft's chapter on Classification published at the end of the 

 book. The length given is the average, and is measured from the tip of the beak 

 to the end of the tail. 



Distribution. Under this head it is intended to define briefly the breeding 

 range of each bird, both outside and in the British Isles. In the case of species 

 c 



