73 [Vol. XXXV. 



I found that they had merged a whole crowd of genera into 

 one genus. I do not altogether like some of the names, 

 but I agree with the principle. The authors have evidentlyj 

 also, come to the conclusion that coloration, in itself, is 

 not a character on which one can, as a rule, rely for the 

 purpose of classification. There are heaps of groups one 

 might take by way of illustrating that, but I think the 

 Ducks will afford as good an illustration as it is possible 

 to find. 



Moj'e interest must be taken in the deeper characters — 

 first of all must come the skeleton, as being perhaps the 

 most tangible part you can get. The characters furnished 

 by this should form the basis of the larger groups and 

 families, and the generic groups should rest on the same 

 basis. Colour-pattern should be used for specific characters, 

 as a rule, and as the link between groups of species. There 

 are instances where the same type of coloration runs through 

 whole genera. But structure, rather than colour, should 

 be, to my mind, the basis for the formation of genera. 



I do not quite follow some of Dr. Lowe's remarks 

 with regard to endogenous and exogenous coloration. I 

 do not see how this distinction can be drawn, because all 

 the various pigmentations, of whatever character they may 

 be, must be of germinal origin, and it is obvious that that 

 is so. After all, the colours which seem to Dr. Lowe to be 

 independent of the environment are not necessarily so. 

 Coloration is not impressed from without — it is inherent. 

 Sometimes Dr. Lowe seems to take the coloration of the 

 nestling as the standard, and sometimes that of the adult. 

 Perhaps in the formation of genera he would keep to the 

 adult rather than to the nestling. A striped coloration 

 occurs in nestlings of such very different types that it 

 obviously cannot be regarded as an indication of affinity. 



Such are the principal points, I think, I wanted to make, 

 but I would insist, once more, on the value of the deeper 

 structures, which have been neglected, as indications of 

 affinity. Take, for instance, birds like the Norfolk Plover. 

 Judging by external appearance only, it is extremely difficult 



