302 STL OIG RRS, GANG 
having been shot by Steller, when Behring’s crew landed 
upon the coast of America. It was first described by Latham, 
from a specimen in Sir Joseph Banks’s collection, from Nootka 
Sound, and on his authority has been admitted into all sub- 
sequent compilations. The species is indeed too well charac- 
terised to be doubted, and appears, moreover, to have been 
known to Temminck, as it is cited by him as a true jay in 
his “ Analysis of a General System.” Nevertheless, adhering 
strictly to our plan of not admitting into the ornithology of the 
United States any but such as we had personally examined, 
we did not include this species either in our Catalogue or 
Synopsis of the birds of this country ; and it is but recently 
that Mr Leadbeater’s specimen has enabled us to add it to 
our list. 
In elevating our subgenus Garrulus to the rank of a genus, 
we merely conform to the dictates of Nature, in this instance 
coinciding with '’emminck, whose intention it is, as he in- 
forms us, to include in it the jays and magpies, leaving the 
name of Corvus for those species which are distinguished by 
their black plumage and short and even tails. These birds 
are on every account well worthy of this distinction, and we 
cheerfully adopt an arrangement which we deem consonant 
with nature ; but we cannot agree to the change of termina- 
tion (Garrula) which he has attempted to introduce, under 
the pretence that his genus is more extensive than the genus 
Garrulus of former authors. That genus was, in fact, formed 
by Brisson, and afterwards by Linné united with Corvus. 
This latter genus of Linné certainly contained within itself 
the constituents of several very natural genera ; but the addi- 
tions made to it by Gmelin and Latham rendered it an utter 
chaos, where every new species with a stout bill took its place, 
in defiance of the genuine characters. Under such circum- 
stances the task of the ornithologist who professed to be guided 
by philosophical principles was, doubtless, not merely to sub- 
divide, but to make an entire reformation, Tlliger, with his 
usual judgment, perceived thie evil, and attempted its remedy ; 
