THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
used other people’s measurements to contrast with his own, a very unwise 
thing to do. However, the one notable feature was the long bill, which, 
however, is by no means a constant character, so that the name might be 
used in a subspecific sense. 
Degen at once criticised the characters in diffuse detail, pointing out the 
very slender grounds upon which Milligan had formed his species and 
incidentally touched upon the geographical distribution of the forms, and 
then upon the nomenclature of the two Western birds, unscientifically adding 
an unnecessary Latin name for Milligan’s species. 
As an example of the improvement in taxonomic ornithology through 
excess of splitting this presents a remarkable case. Hartert had just initiated 
ultra-splitting in subspecific terms into Palaearctic ornithology and wrote an 
essay introducing it to the notice of Australian workers. He was, however, 
comparatively unskilled in the absolute necessity of strictly accurate biblio- 
graphic work and consequently overlooked much, recent work and made many 
bad blunders. In the present instance he overlooked the Emu, a periodical 
dealing with Australian birds and therefore described 
Gymnorhina tibicen longirostris 
“ Differs from G. tibicen tibicen in its larger size and especially in its much 
longer bill, d ad. ; wing 251 to 257 ; bill 72 -5 to 73 ‘5 mm. Type : ad. 
Nullagine, N.W. Australia, 16. iv. 1901. G. tibicen tibicen was originally des- 
cribed from New South Wales, and the birds from there have the bill about 
a centimetre shorter. Mr. Tunney sent only two adult males.” 
The number of errors in this performance are extraordinary. Firstly, 
he overlooked Milligan’s new species in a restricted genus like the present, 
almost an inexcusable oversight. The birds came almost from the same 
locality, and he selected the same name as Milligan had chosen. He had 
only two birds and consequently his facts were liable to reconsideration, and 
the larger size and much longer bill are not constant. 
I examined a much larger series for my “ Reference List ” in 1912, and 
under the influence of genus-lumping referred all the forms to Gracticus , 
sinking Gymnorhina. 
I allowed four subspecies 
Gracticus tibicen tibicen (Latham). 
New South Wales. 
Gracticus tibicen terrceregince Mathews. 
“ Differs from C. t. tibicen in its much smaller size ; wing 240 mm. ; 
typical wing 270 mm. Bartle Frere, Queensland.” 
North Queensland. 
Gracticus tibicen intermissus Mathews. 
348 
