XXXll 



Verzeichniss ' in 1823, distinguished between the Bucconidee and Capitonidse. All species of 

 these families known to these two authors were lumped together as "Barbets" by the former, 

 and under '■^ Bucco" by the latter. In 1827, however, the more accurate Wagler took up the 

 subject, and clearly separated the groups. Unfortunately, misled by Temminck, Wagler called 

 the Puif-birds ^'■Cajyito," but gave an excellent account of the seven species known to him. 

 Instead of adopting Vieillot's name, he likewise termed the Nun-birds Lypornix, but well and 

 concisely described seven species of this group also, except that he treated Malacoptila fasca as 

 the young of M. torquata, and changed one or two previously given names. On the v^^hole, 

 however, Wagler's essay must be regarded as by far the best account of the group given up to 

 this period, at which epoch fifteen species were known to science. 



In his 'Traite d'Ornitliologie ' (1831) Lesson arranged the Puff-birds in two genera of his 

 family "Barbus" — Barbacou [Monasa) and Tamatia {Tamatia), and kept them distinct from the 

 Capitonidae. Of the former group he mentioned four species, of the latter eight, thus clearly 

 falling short of Wagler in his knowledge of the group. 



The immortal Nitzsch, whose researches were published by Burmeister in 1840, placed the 

 PufiT-birds amongst his " Picinse," and first described their pterylographic characters. He had 

 examined the pterylosis of two genera — Bucco and Monacha*. 



We may now pass on, I think, omitting notices of individual descriptions, to the year 1846, 

 in which Messrs. Gray and Mitchell issued the number of their standard work, on the Genera of 

 Birds, containing the Puff-birds. In this work the groups in question are arranged as the first 

 subfamily of the Alcedinidse, under the title of " Bucconinae." It is to Gray, in fact, that we 

 are indebted for the restoration of the term " Bucco " to its proper use, from which it had been 

 so long divorced. Even in his two editions of his 'List of the Genera of Birds" (1840 and 

 1841) Gray had not ceased to follow the prevalent usage, caUing the Puif-birds " Tamatianse " 

 and the Barbets " Bucconinae." But in the ' Genera of Birds ' he restored the misused terms to 

 their proper application, calling the Puff-birds '• Bucconinse" and the Barbets " Capitoninae," in 

 which excellent revolution he has been followed by nearly every subsequent writer of repute. 

 Gray, in the ' Genera,' allowed three genera of Bucconinae — Bucco, Monasa, and Chelidoptera — 

 assigning thirteen species to the first genus, seven to the second, and one to the third. One 

 of the Buccones being given twice under different names, we may consider that twenty species of 

 the group were at this epoch known to science, of which two were first named by Gray in the 

 present work, and one of these (Bucco pectoralis) excellently figured. 



Two years later (1848) Gray issued his ' List of the Specimens of Fissirostres ' in the British 

 Museum, in which he did not deviate from the foregoing arrangement. It seems that the 

 national collection contained at that period thirty-seven examples of Bucconidae, belonging to 

 sixteen species. 



In 1850 Bonaparte published the portion of his 'Conspectus' that contains the Puff-birds. 

 In this most useful compilation the author accorded the group the full rank of a family, which 

 Strickland had claimed for it in his "Commentary" upon Gray's Listsf, but persisted in terming 

 it Capitonidae. Tw-enty-four species were" assigned to the group. 



Shortly after this period I first took up the study of the Bucconidae, and in 1854 published 

 ■ Pterylography ' (Engl, ed.), p. 94. f Aun. JN'at. Hist. vi. p. 417 (1841). 



* 4 ' 



