RARER BRITISH BIRDS. 47 



SWIMMING BIRDS. 



Palmipides. CUVIER. Natatores. VIGORS. 



THINKING it better in the arrangement of the birds of one 

 country only, to follow some well-known arrangement, rather 

 than to invent a new one, as in the present day appears to 

 be rather the fashion, and which must necessarily add to the 

 number and confusion of synonyms, we have not speculated 

 upon any general arrangement, and both have and intend to 

 follow that of the Baron Cuvier; occasionally introducing, 

 however, the new generic and sub generic names, where they 

 appear to us to have been applied judiciously. But, although 

 as to general arrangement we follow that to which the immortal 

 name of the naturalist above mentioned is attached, we shall 

 occasionally alter the arrangement of particular genera, to which 

 we think even the strongest advocates for the classification of 

 the " Regne Animal" cannot object; for, it must be recollected, 

 that work was only intended as a sketch of an arrangement, 

 to be filled up, in the minutiae, by those who made particular 

 families their study. 



The genera of the Palmipides, in which we propose to make 

 some slight alterations, are the following : Procellaria, Linn. 

 in which we shall place the sub genera, Falmarus, Leach; and 

 Thalassidroma, Leach, after Puffinus, Ray ; regarding Puffinus 

 as most nearly related to the Divers of the foregoing family, 

 and Thalassidroma to the Gulls of the following genus. Larus, 

 from which we shall separate Lestris, Uliger, placing it as a 

 genus before Larus, (by Cuvier it is placed as a sub genus under 

 Larus.) We shall also propose some sub divisions among the 

 true Gulls. In the family Lamellirostres, Cuvier, we shall place 

 the genus Mergus first, as more nearly related to the Cormorants 



