94 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. A'OL. SLIX. No. 1256 



oldest tenable names and the original spell- 

 ing of generic, specific and subspecific terms 

 are used, including those formed with the 

 termination ii from the names of persons. 

 We note, however, an occasional slip, as, for 

 example, Phcethomis guyi, which should be 

 written PJixthornis guy, to agree with the 

 author's practise in the case of Chcetocercus 

 heliodor. 



Recent ornithological work concerning the 

 birds of America has been carefully collated, 

 and the present catolognie appears to be 

 brought well up to date. It is doubtless worth 

 while to note that since a number of the 

 families included are peculiar to America, the 

 present catalogue presents a complete list of 

 the genera, species, and subspecies of Steator- 

 nithidffi, Todidte, Momotidse, Nyctibiidse, and, 

 most important of all, Trochilidse. 



There is only one illustration, the frontis- 

 piece in color, which depicts Urochroma 

 costaricensis Cory. There is no index, but 

 this is probably to be supplied at the end of 

 Part n. 



This work is mifortmiately marred by many 

 tyiwgraphical errors in both scientific and 

 common names. We are also sorry to see the 

 the perpetuation of the vernacular name 

 "nighthawk" for the species of the genera 

 Nyctiphrynus, Antiurus, Setopagis, and Nycti- 

 polus, for these do not belong to the same 

 family as the true nighthawks (Chordeilidse), 

 but to the Caprimulgidse, and are nearly re- 

 lated to the whip-poor-wills. Furthermore, 

 there does not seem to be a satisfactory reason 

 for continuing the use of Antrostomus instead 

 of Setochalcis for the American whip-poor- 

 wills, since there are many excellent char- 

 acters, external as well as osteological, to sep- 

 arate them from Anti-ostomus carolinensis. 

 Also, the American barn owls are clearly sub- 

 species of the European Tyto alba, not of the 

 South American Tyto perlata. 



This catalogue is the first serious attempt at 

 an enumeration of the birds of all America, 

 and is so well done that it can not fail to 

 have before it a long career of great use- 

 fulness. 



Harry C. Oberholser 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 

 PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN AVIATION' 



With the exception noted below, official re- 

 search on psychological problems of aviation 

 was conducted mider the direction of the 

 Medical Research Board, a branch of the Air 

 Medical Ser^-iee which (the A. M. S.) took 

 charge of the medical, physiological and psy- 

 chological problems concerning the behavior 

 of the fliers. I began work at the Bureau of 

 Mines Laboratory in October, 1917, with two 

 assistants, and continued in charge of the 

 Psychological Department until August 30, 

 1918, on which date I was removed from the 

 ilineola Laboratory. During this period the 

 psychological staff grew to (approximately) 

 twenty-five officers and seventeen men (count- 

 ing several who were commissioned shortly 

 after my leaving, on my previous recommenda- 

 tions). The response of the members of the 

 psychological profession to my calls for assist- 

 ance was most liberal, and although we did 

 not have a staff large enough to do effective 

 work it was on account of the difficulty in 

 seciu-ing commissions, not on account of lack 

 of competent psychologists willing to make 

 the sacrifice. 



Work on tests of flying ability was com- 

 menced earlier, outside the Medical Board, 

 by Professor Stratton, at first independently, 

 and later under the Air Personnel. Upon my 

 urgent recommendation, the board succeeded 

 in having Professor (now Major) Stratton 

 transferred to the Mineola Laboratory, bring- 

 ing all the psychological research imder med- 

 ical control, and on my removal Major Strat- 

 ton was placed in charge of the department. 



The first work required of the board was 

 the construction and standardization of a test 

 for determining, if possible, the individual 

 flier's ability to endure the partial asphyxia- 



1 A paper read before the Baltimore meeting of 

 the American Psychological Association in joint 

 session with Section H, American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science, December 28, 1918. 

 Authority to publish, with deletions, granted by 

 Board of Publication, S. G. O. 



Asterisks in the text indicate deletions. 



