THE BIRDS OE AUSTRALIA. 
Latham was not exactly a genus-splitter, though he introduced a few 
new generic names. He, however, indicated his belief in the necessity for more 
divisions and probably would have introduced more than he did had not Gmelin 
usurped his technical work and thus disappointed him in the publication of 
his scientific nomination of his birds. 
However, Anderson, who was on Cook’s Third Voyage was impressed 
with the peculiar nature of Australian birds and for the Honey-eaters proposed 
a new genus name in his MS. Some of this Manuscript is preserved in the 
British Museum (Natural History) and although only a few buds are named 
as new, the Honey-eaters are separated as a new genus. 
The name selected was appropriate and may have been even suggested by 
Latham, or Latham accepted it as a good name. Recently the British Museum 
purchased a set of paintings that had belonged to Latham, and which were 
at the time under offer to myself, who had instigated their recovery 7 . On these 
paintings Latham had written against many of the Honey-eaters the same 
generic name as used by Anderson in his IMS. It was not considered wise to 
quote this MS. name, as it would have been only an additional useless one, 
as by this time it had been correctly introduced in another connection. 
Recently, however, the study of a little book called Ornithologia, by 
J. Jennings, showed Latham had correctly introduced this name into his intended 
second edition of the Index Ornithologicus, and Jennings published it in connection 
with two species only, so that it has not been cited in the synonymy of Australian 
names. I he name in question is Anthophagus, and the full account of Jennings’ 
work is given in the Austral Avian Record, VoL IV., No. 7, pp. 172-175, 
March 7th, 1922, where is quoted “ The genus Anthophagus Lath, or Honey- 
eater consists of seventy species,” and the type selected as A. olivaceus Lath., 
making it citable as a synonym of Arachnothera, and it is also preoccupied 
by Anthophagus published by Gravenhorst, Coleopt. micr., p. 120, 1802. 
I have included this item as of great liistorical interest, though hitherto 
unrecorded in literature. 
The first published generic name is Meliphaga in Lewin’s Birds New 
Holland, which appeared in 1808. Whose invention this is cannot now be 
traced, but it seems to have been added at this end and may not even have 
been Lewin s suggestion. That does not matter in any way, but is here noted 
as four species are named Meliphaga, and a cut of the bill and tongue appears 
on one plate which does not appear on the plate as printed in Sydney. 
Die usage of Lewin s name has been detailed in the Austral Avian Record, 
Vol. I., pt . 8, p. 184, March 20th, 1913, where I showed that it was given as a 
general name for all Honey-eaters and was so used by the earliest ornithologists, 
who, however, split off new 7 genera almost immediately. Vieillot introduced 
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