BRITISH BIRDS. 
15 
proved to us a term of very ambiguous import. Some- 
times it appears to designate a distinct colour, with its 
various hues ; thus we have cinereous, pale cinereous, 
dark cinereous, &c. or it is used synonimously, as from 
its etymology it ought to be, if used at all, with ash- 
grey ; at other times it is confounded with many of 
the varieties of brown and of white. Language not less 
vague is made use of^ though perhaps not quite so fre- 
quently, in regard to all the other principal colours, 
scarcely any two writers appearing to attach the same 
idea to the same diversity of shade. The confusion 
to which this has given rise in ornithological descrip- 
tions, has often made us wish that naturalists would 
adopt some uniform standard by which the subject of 
colour might be regulated, and if possible, fixed. The 
Nomenclature of Colours” of the distinguished Wer- 
ner, (as enlarged and exemplified by Mr Syme) would 
seem to present the requisite basis of such a standard. 
This arrangement, though hitherto confined to mine- 
ralogical details, might, if further systematized and ex- 
tended, be applied with peculiar propriety to the de- 
scriptions of birds, in which colour forms so conspicu- 
ous a character. Indeed, without some such universal 
agreement, we despair of seeing descriptive writing of 
any sort ever exhibiting that accuracy and simplicity 
which is so desirable, and to a certain degree so easily 
attainable. 
