THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 745.— July, 1903. 



ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF SOME OF THE 

 BIRDS MENTIONED BY ARISTOTLE. 



By T. E. Lones, M.A., LL.D., B.Sc. 



The determination of the genera and species of the birds 

 mentioned by Aristotle has occupied the attention of many 

 naturalists and classical writers. Of the earlier efforts in this 

 direction, those of Gesner and Belon may be specially mentioned, 

 while in later times this difficult work of identification has 

 received careful attention from Billerbeck, Gloger, and Sunde- 

 vall. As a result of the labours of these and other workers, 

 both the genera and species of about ninety of Aristotle's birds 

 are fairly well known, and of the remainder — about eighty in 

 number — the genera only of about forty have been determined 

 with more or less success. Among the birds whose identification 

 has caused much controversy may be instanced those which are 

 included, by modern naturalists, in the families Cypselidce and 

 Hirundinidce, and various water-birds probably belonging to 

 the families Anatidce, Laridce, and Podicipedidce. The identifi- 

 cation of some of these birds will be considered in this paper. 



There are two important points to which attention may be 

 drawn advantageously at this early stage of the inquiry. In the 

 first place, Aristotle was in an especial degree what would now 

 be called a comparative zoologist, and in many cases his descrip- 

 tions of birds are meagre, and serve mainly to illustrate general- 

 ized statements made about their structure and modes of life. 

 Zool. 4th ser. vol. VII., July, 1903. u 



