Voi-Xii.l « jfig Austral Avian Record." 4"^ 



1912 J T^^ 



lists and catalogues be fairly up to date, then the introduction 

 of Mr. Mathews' subdivisions will undoubtedly tend to lead students 

 to endless confusion. 



For instance, take Mr. Mathews' attempt to unravel the Crows, 

 which, according to such an undoubted expert as Mr. Ogilvie- 

 Grant, has only led to greater confusion {vide p. 44, this issue). 



As this magazine {The Emu) stands primarily to "popularize the 

 study of native birds," it must be true to its objects and warn 

 students and bird-lovers not to be misled by Mr. Mathews' mazes 

 of subdivisions, which in many cases can only prove individual 

 or local variation. Were not Gould, Ramsay, Legge, North, and 

 other Australians good at discriminating species and forms ? How 

 have they all passed so many of Mr. Mathews' discoveries ? And 

 Drs. Sharpe and Gadow and the other talented authors of the 

 official "Catalogue of Birds" of the British Museum — did they 

 not handle and examine much Australian material, including 

 most of Mr. Mathews' so-called "new forms" ? 



There may be license for numerous sub-species, and possibly 

 species, in a new and ornithologically unexplored insular region 

 like Melville Island, Northern Territory, but what excuse is there 

 for creating new sub-species for a number of common birds found 

 within the railway suburban radius of the metropolis of Melbourne, 

 where so many ornithologists of good standing have been born and 

 reared. The following may be cited as instances : — Dacelo gigas 

 {tregellasi), Petrceca leggii {frontalis), P. cucnllata {vigorsi), Smicrornis 

 brevirostris {viridescens), Pachycephala guUuralis {yoiingi), Cinclo- 

 soma -punctata {neglectum), Psophodes olivaceus {scrymgeoitri), 

 Oreocincla luniilatus {dendyi), Acrocephalus australis {mellori), 

 Megalurus gramineus {wilsoni), Chthonicola sagittata {inexpectata), 

 Seticornis frontalis {harterti), Acanthiza chrysorrhoa (sandlandi), 

 Malurus cyaneus {henriettce), Collyriocincla harmonica {victoricB), 

 Falcunculus frontatus {iredalei), Cracticus torquatus {olindns), 

 Pardalotns striatus {sub-striatns), Ptilotis leucotis {depaiiperata), 

 P. penicillata {mellori), Acanthochara cariinctilata {tregellasi), 

 Mgintha temporalis {tregellasi), Corcorax melanorhamphiis {stihniger), 

 &c.; while it is incautious to give new names to such well-known 

 species migrating to Victoria as Meliphaga phrygia {tregellasi), 

 Myiagra nihecula {ringwoodi), Rhipidura rufifrons {inexpectata), &c. 

 Mr. Mathews is an Australian by birth, but it is not known 

 whether or not he followed ornithology in his native land. In any 

 case it is evident that he should study his Australian geography 

 practically before proceeding further wdth his work. No person 

 can write successfully the ornithology of a country from a distance, 

 or from cabinet specimens alone. Even a Gould could not have 

 done it. For this reason it is a pity that Mr. Mathews has 

 completed the first volume of what promised to be a standard 

 work before he visited Australia and acquired indispensable local 

 knowledge. While mentioning Mr. Mathews' work, and taking 

 into consideration the position of the R.A.O.U. regarding 

 Australian ornithology, it is remarkable that not one of the 



