67 [Vol. XXXV. 



constant, and the most fundamental character? Which was 

 the most reliable character for the purposes of classification 

 — one which had a direct relation with function or one 

 which had not ? Surely it was the " least useful" character. 

 He would now pass on to consider 



(5) Colour -pattern as a phylogenetic or generic clue. 



To illustrate this he would take sorne nestling examples 

 from the group of Waders. Dr, Lowe then exhibited a fine 

 series of the downy nestlings of the Dunlin ^ssociation_, the 

 subfamily formerly known as the Txingince, but for which 

 he proposed the term Eroliina:, since the term Tr'ingince had, 

 in his opinion, by the principle of Liunean tautonomy;, been 

 ruled out of court. 



He thought that the colour-pattern common to all these 

 nestling species served as an excellent control experiment, 

 whereby they might judge of the exact limits of the Eroliine 

 subfamily. The colour-pattern was absolutely diagnostic, 

 and tested thus the Eroliine subfamily was found to be a 

 very definitely differentiated group. 



The same remarks applied to the series of downy nestlings 

 of the Redshank groups— the Tringince — which he had there ; 

 but in it there was apparent a marked distinction of colour- 

 pattern. In the first case you had a spangled colour-pattern^ 

 in the second a very distinctly striped one. 



Dr, Lowe then exhibited other examples of nestling 

 Waders, the colour-pattern of which was characteristic of 

 various Limicolitie groups. These were only a selection out 

 of many examples of nestlings which he had had kindly 

 placed at his disposal from various collections. 



Continuing, Dr. Lowe said that it might be asked of 

 what practical use were all the facts which he had just 

 brought forward. There were various examples he could 

 demonstrate in relation to this point. One of them w'as 

 the nestling of El&eyornis melanops of Australia. In almost 

 all works this form was always included at the end of 

 the list of species belonging to the Ringed Plover group 

 {^gialitis). The nestling specimen exhibited undoubtedly 



a 5 



