1896.] Progress in American Ornithology. 371 



pitres or the Falcons and their kin, while I make separate 

 groups for the Cuckoos, Kingfishers and Trogons. The Wood- 

 peckers are not separated from the Passeres by the Goatsuck- 

 ers, Swifts, and Hummingbirds, as the A. 0. U. List now have 

 them arranged, but the Woodpeckers, in the list of North 

 American Birds, taxonomically arrayed, should stand immed- 

 iately next to the Passeres, while the " Macrochires " is a thor- 

 oughly unnatural group, inasmuch as birds are no longer 

 classified and restricted to groups on account of their having 

 long pinions. 



Finally we come to the Passeres with the lineal arrangement 

 of the 21 families composing the group. Now, as a classifica- 

 tory scheme, this lineal method of showing it is unsatisfactory 

 in the extreme, but it appears to be the only available one to 

 adopt in the Lists in books. A " tree " shows what is meant 

 much better and truer, but it can never form a part of a List. 

 Still these Lists show something, for we can, among other 

 things, indicate in them the families that should, in our opin- 

 ions, occupy the extremes — as, for instance, the Tyrannidse and 

 the Corvidx, but in numerous cases it will be found to be ex- 

 ceedingly difficult to complete the sequence, even to carry out 

 the hopes of the classifier. However, marked violences can 

 usually be avoided, and marked affinities often shown in a 

 classification of this kind. 



The scheme adapted in the A. 0. U. Check-List, although 

 not altogether a bad one, is capable of showing a more truthful 

 arrangement of the families of passerine birds. In the first 

 place, this List should be completely reversed; then the 

 Thrushes (Turdidse) placed more nearly where they belong; 

 and the Laniidx removed very much nearer the Clamatorial 

 end of the sequence, and away from the Vireos, with which 

 family they have no special affinity. Thus much for the 

 progress in American ornithology during the past ten years ; 

 our ornis has been most carefully studied in so far as the 

 identification of new species and subspecies is concerned, but 

 the matter of scientific classification of birds demands increased 

 attention, and it is to be hoped that a greater number of avian 

 morpholoffists will arise, and should that come about, the clas- 



