STRIGIFORMES. 
As above suggested^ Australian Owls have not troubled northern systematic 
workers much, so that there is not much to record in this respect. I will 
deal with the general features under the generic names involved, but would 
again remark upon the apparent incongruity of such workers classing in the 
same genus such obviously different forms as “ Ninox ” maculata = clelandi 
and ^^Ninox^^ strenua. Superficially, these differ abundantly in detail, while 
of many of the northern Owls such cannot be written. The casual and ignorant 
methods applied by Northern systematic ornithologists when dealing with 
Australian birds has been the greatest curse of Australian ornithology, and 
that such methods are not yet extinct will be fuUy explained later on 
when dealing with certain members of this group. 
Sharpe, in the Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, Vol. II., 
classed all Australian Owls in two genera, Ninox and Strix. As regards names 
alone, the latter was incorrect, as is now universally admitted. The former 
was ranged in the family Bubonidce, the latter Strigidce. In this place the 
former family name becomes Strigidce and the latter Tytonidce. 
The genus Ninox was introduced for an Indian Owl, with which I 
consider no Australian Owl congeneric. It was therefore necessary to provide 
substitutes from the mass of apparently “ useless synonyms.” This necessi- 
tated the examination of the birds themselves in connection with the names 
available. It was at once seen that the Australian Owls could not be 
considered all congeneric. Kaup’s names were the earliest given strictly to 
Australian species and were used for the species as follows : 
Spiloglaux for hoobook and subspecies. 
Hieracoglaux for connivens and strenua. 
Rhabdoglaux was proposed later by Bonaparte for rufa and humeralis. 
The definition of the generic characters revealed, as it most commonly 
does, a bad blunder in connection with the species classed under Hieracoglaux. 
The two species connivens and strenua are obviously not congeneric, ^nd, 
furthermore, if it were possible to lump Spiloglaux, Hieracoglaux and 
Rhabdoglaux, as Sharpe did and Hartert still does, strenua (Athene^ strenua 
Gould) would have to be differentiated. I therefore provide for this magnifi- 
cent species the new generic name 
BERNEYORNIS. 
It gives me very great pleasure to thus perpetuate the name of my 
friend Mr. Frederic L. Berney, whose notes on his observations in the field are 
most excellent and have proved of more than ordinary interest in many 
connections. We have, then, four genera for four species, and have thus 
approached the standard laid down by British genus-lumpers. 
VOL. V. 
305 
