1878.] MR. H. SAUNDERS ON THE LARINvE. 157 



reaction of common sense in the shape of one of Professor Schlegel's 

 admirable Catalogues raisonnes of the Mus. d'Hist. Nat. des Pays- 

 Bas, a monographical review which, in the words of Prof. Blasius, 

 "is destined to be the foundation of all true Gull-knowledge for 

 those whose ideas of what really constitutes a species are not sacri- 

 ficed to an arbitrary whim or a geographical sport." The remarks 

 which I have thus translated are to be found in a critical review of 

 great merit in the J. f. Orn. (1865, p. 369, and 1866, p. 73). In 

 this Blasius reduces Bonaparte's species to 35 — a diminution which 

 to some degree falls into the other extreme, partly owing to the fact 

 that the author was then unacquainted with several perfectly good 

 species, of which series have since become available, and also to his 

 having united some closely allied forms which, in my opinion, are 

 more conveniently treated by giving them specific rank. 



As regards the North-American Larince, Dr. Elliott Coues has 

 contributed two important reviews (Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1862, 

 p. 291, and 'Birds of the North-west' (1874); and these, coupled 

 with the excellent Revised List of the Neotropical Laridce by Messrs. 

 Sclaterand Salvin (P. Z. S. 1871, p. 564), make us better acquainted 

 with the American species than with those of any other great divi- 

 sion of the globe. But although there are probably no undiscovered 

 forms, there still remain many details to be learned respecting the 

 haunts, nidification, and various plumages of the American Larince, 

 especially those of the Pacific-coast islands ; and, indeed, there are 

 two from the Galapagos Islands so rare that the one, L. fuliginosus, 

 is only to be found in three or four collections, whilst of the other, 

 Xema furcatum, only two examples are known to exist, the one in 

 the Paris, the other in the British Museum. 



With regard to several of the Old-World species there are also 

 some important gaps to be filled up ; but with one solitary exception, 

 viz. Rhodostethia rosea, the least-known species and the most 

 interesting forms are those which are found on the shores and islands 

 of the Pacific, on both the Asiatic and American sides. These will 

 be noticed under their respective heads ; and I will now pass on to 

 consider the genera and subgenera amongst which the species have 

 been divided. Most of these have been based upon colour, geogra- 

 phical distribution, or upon the mere caprice of the systematist — upon 

 any thing in short except those structural differences which afford 

 a valid reason for their employment ; but as many of these genera 

 are either used erroneously or in a perverted sense by those who 

 have not studied the question, I will give a full synopsis of them with 

 remarks. Those genera which appear worthy of retention are printed 

 in small capitals. 



Genera. 

 Larus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 224 (1766). 

 For all Gulls. 



Xema, Leach ; J. Boss, App. ii., Ross's Voy. p. 57 (1819). 

 The generic characters are given as defined by Leach ; these 



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