138 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
lame attempt to shirk the difficulty, or as a roundabout mode of 
expressing his ignorance of the characters of the genus. 
The new school of modern ornithologists, of whom Coues, 
Baird, Ridgway, and Sharpe may be accepted as typical 
examples, boldly take the bull by the horns, and attempt to 
construct diagnostic keys to the genera. ‘They may or may not 
be successful,—unfortunately many of these keys are lamentable 
failures, and will not turn in the lock,—but all honour to the 
men who at least try to give definiteness to our knowledge. 
A short clear definition, even of our ignorance, is better than 
pages of oracular wisdom. 
I find it impossible to construct an entirely satisfactory 
diagnosis of the genus Numenius. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway 
place the Curlews in their family Scolopacide. It is a matter of 
no importance to the argument whether the group of birds to 
which the Curlews belong, which consists of the Snipes, Sand- 
pipers, and their allies, be regarded as a family or a subfamily. 
I think that they ought unquestionably to be looked upon as 
belonging to the same family as the Plovers and their allies, 
inasmuch as no line can be drawn between the two groups 
which is not obviously an arbitrary one. For the sake of 
argument, however, I am prepared to admit that the classifi- 
cation of the group of birds which are called Limicole has been 
accomplished to such an extent that the Scolopacide, as limited 
by Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, can be diagnosed, though the 
characters may not be as satisfactory as could be wished. The 
diagnosis of the genus Numenius, according to these authors, is 
as follows :— 
Scolopacide having a strongly decurved bill, longer than the 
tarsus and middle toe. 
The objection to this diagnosis is that it excludes two species 
which have always been admitted to the genus, Nuwmenius 
borealis and N. minor. What have these poor Curlews done 
that they should be turned out into the cold? It is rather a 
remarkable fact that they are the only Curlews which have 
neglected to make any attempt to produce pale bars on the inner 
webs of their primaries. This neglect may be a specific mis- 
demeanour, but can scarcely be regarded as a generic crime! 
Let us see what Coues can do for us. His diagnosis of the 
eenus Numenius may be tersely expressed as follows :— 
