Recent/;/ published Ornithological Works. 293 



time iu this part of Mr. Hartert/ s work, — namely , Corvus 

 frugilegus tschusii from Gilgit, Cyanopica cyanus swinhoei 

 from China, Nucifraga caryocatactes rofhschildi from Tur- 

 kestan, Garrulus glandarius rufitergum from Grc.it Britain 

 and Ireland, G. g. kleinschmidti from South Spain, G. g. 

 ivhitakeri from Morocco, Sturnus vulgaris granti from the 

 Azores, Eophona melanura migratoria from S.E. Siberia, 

 Chloris sinica ussuriensis from Eastern Manchuria, Acanthis 

 carduelis britannicus from Great Britain and Ireland, A. c. 

 africanus from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunis, A. flavirostris 

 stoliczka from Gilgit, and Erythrospiza githaginea amantum 

 from the Canaries. Among these are two well-known British 

 birds — our Jay and Goldfinch. Can Mr. Hartert say that 

 if British skins of these birds were mixed up with some of 

 their Continental representatives, he would always be able to 

 pick them out ? 



In respect of genera, we arc pleased to say that Mr. Hartert 

 is somewhat more conservative. He even unites, in some 

 cases, genera which are usually regarded as distinct. Under 

 " Acanthis," for example, he proposes to join together the 

 Goldfinches, Siskins, Linnets, and Redpolls. We are not 

 quite disposed to agree to this, and, at any rate, we do not sec 

 why Acanthis of Bechstein (1802) should be preferred to 

 Carduelis of Schaef (1789). The Goldfinch should certainly 

 bear the generic name Carduelis, and, in spite of what 

 Dr. Stejneger may have argued (sec ' Auk,' 1881, p. 145), 

 Acanthis is merely a synonym of Carduelis. 



But the main point of the book is that the author calls 

 upon us virtually to give up the binomial system, which has 

 been in universal use since its foundation by Linmeus, for a 

 trinomial system. Here we most decidedly decline to follow 

 him. In our opinion the better and all-sufficient scientilic 

 name for the Raven is simply " Corvus corax" not " Corvus 

 corax corax h." ; and we shall continue to call it so. We 

 shall, no doubt, be stigmatized by some of our friends as 

 " fossils " and " antediluvians " ; but we believe that the 

 great majority of sober-minded ornithologists, in spite of the 

 efforts of the new school, will stick to the binomial system. 



