676 CLASS AVES, 



which is new, in our language, at least, may be useful, and 

 therefore meritorious. 



The gentleman to whom this part of the work has been 

 more particularly committed, possesses opportunities of 

 practical information within the reach of very few ; and his 

 fellow labourers in the other portions of the work, may per- 

 haps be permitted to say that his zeal and industry in the 

 investigation of species, are at least equal to the advantages 

 of his situation. 



We are indebted to several scientific gentlemen, to whom 

 we beg to return our best acknowledgements for several valu- 

 able communications made during the publication on the 

 birds. Our friend, William Swainson, Esq, more especially 

 has favoured us with a series of important observations on 

 many of the groups and species of that ill-defined order, the 

 Pas SERES ; and as we have his permission to print these ob- 

 servations, we cannot perhaps terminate this portion of the 

 ' Animal Kingdom,' more usefully to the public, or more 

 beneficially to the scientific student, than by doing so. 



Mr. Swainson in his letter, enclosing the following remarks, 

 states, " No one can be more sensible than myself how utterly 

 " impossible it is to be correct in attempting the hopeless task 

 " of reconciling synonyms^ or of reducing ornithological 

 " nomenclature from its present confused state to something 

 " like a comprehensible science. Aware that nothing but a 

 " personal examination, in most instances, of the birds them- 

 'f selves, will effectually conduce to remove error, it is only 

 " from such sources of information that I have ventured to 

 " off*er the observations herewith. I have likewise thought it 

 " adviseable to explain more clearly the nature of some of my 

 " own groups, upon which some degree of misconception 

 " appears to have arisen."" 



