vi INTRODUCTION. 



limit, thus it may mean, in a wide sense, the country of the Eiver Amazon and 

 its tributaries, or, in a limited degree, the districts adjacent to the main river ; 

 and secondly, because the accompanying map has no such area mentioned. We 

 have, therefore, in the case of a country such as Brazil, used North, North-east, 

 North-west, West, Central, East, South-east, South, etc. We realize thoroughly 

 the inconsistencies of these terms, but we hope that in the succeeding volumes 

 the distribution of the species and subspecies will be fully worked out, and that 

 these inconsistencies will then disappear. 



The general outlines of classification followed in the present^ List are based on 

 Sharpe's ' Hand-list of Birds/ published by the Trustees of the British Museum. 

 Various changes have taken place in the nomenclature since the Hand-list 

 was published, more especially among the genera and species, and we have felt 

 compelled to adopt them. 



In the Hand-list the 12th edition of Linne's ' Systema Naturae ' was followed, 

 but as zoologists have now unanimously agreed to accept the 10th edition, this 

 change has necessitated the alteration of many names, and has involved much 

 labour. In the re-examination of names the writings of Hellmayr, Berlepsch, 

 Hartert, and the North-American authors have been utilised and have been 

 of great value. Much remains, to be done in this respect, and for the many 

 shortcomings in the present volume we ask for the forbearance of ornithologists, 

 since no one is so conscious of these shortcomings as ourselves. The endeavour 

 to correct the most obvious errors in the Hand-list has been the chief cause of the 

 delay in the publication of this List, and many doubtful points have unfortunately 

 been left untouched. The bringing together of the many corrections made by 

 the authors cited has been a much more difficult and lengthy task than would 

 appear at first sight. 



We do not regard tbis List as final by any means, but we venture to hope that 

 it will form a basis on which ornithologists can pursue their investigations. 



The scope of the List includes South America and the islands adjacent to the 

 coast from Colombia, Venezuela, Tobago 5 and Trinidad to Cape Horn and the 

 Falkland Islands. 



The avifauna of Central America has been worked out by Messrs. Salvin and 

 Godman, and published in their great work the 'Biologia Centrali-Ameri'cana,' 

 and later by Professor Robert Ritlgway in his admirable monograph on the ' Birds 

 of North and Middle America '—which also includes the Galapagos Islands. The 

 authors of the present work, therefore, have not thought it necessary to include 

 these two portions of the Neotropical Region. 



