512 Recently published Ornithological Works. 
to the Ivory Gull as the type of the genus, because of the 
two it stands the first. Again, it seems a pity to discard the 
thoroughly well-based and established name Sterna anglica 
for the Gull-billed Tern, in favour of HasselquisPs S. nilotica. 
True, the species in question is found on the Nile, but 
Hasselquist describes his S. nilotica as having “flesh-coloured 
feet,” which the Gull-billed Tern has not; whereas the Little 
Gull, Larus minutus, a bird of about the same size, also found 
on the Nile, has red legs and feet; and the same may be said 
of the Common Tern, Such procedure seems inconsistent 
with Canon XXNYI., “A name resting solely on an in¬ 
adequate diagnosis is to be rejectedand with Canon XLV., 
“ Absolute identification is requisite in order to displace a 
modern current name by an older obscure one.” Not much 
more than a year ago, when vol. ii. of the t Water-Birds of 
North America * was published, the old generic name Mergus 
given by Linnseus was good enough, but now it is discarded 
in favour of Merganser , Brisson ! It is, however, gratifying 
to find that to the American Bittern is now assigned the 
well-known specific designation of lentiginosus, instead of that 
of ( Botaurus ) mugitans (Bartram), a nomen nudum adopted by 
Dr. Coues. But (Anas) boschas and (S'colopax) rusticola 
must remain uncorrected, for they were so written, or at least 
so printed, “ in the beginning,” i. e . 1758. 
It is not our wish to pick holes in the execution of the 
very difficult task of giving, in a few lines, an accurate sketch 
of the geographical distribution of each of the nearly 800 
species enumerated, but a few details may be noticed. We 
think that Mniotilta varia goes beyond “ Central America 
and the West Indies,” as far as Colombia and Venezuela; 
Turdus fuscescens goes far south of “ the Plains,” even unto 
Panama and the valley of the Amazons ; and Sialia azurea, 
the habitat of which is given as “ Southern Arizona and 
Eastern Mexico,” breeds in Guatemala. We notice that the 
authors of the List persist in calling the Cliff-Swallow Petro- 
chelidon lunifrons (Say), instead of P.pyrrhonota (Vieill.), 
though how they could argue the point out consistently we. 
cannot think. The demands upon our space preclude further 
