[2] Very full references to literature may be found in Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum and in Catalogue of the Collection of Birds’ Eggs in the British Museum (Natural History). [↑]

[3] Sharpe, R. B.: A Hand-List of the Genera and Species of Birds. London (1899–1903), 1–4, Vol. 5 in press.

For other systems of classification the following may be consulted:

Huxley, T. H.: On the Classification of Birds; and on the Taxonomic Value of the Modifications of Certain of the Cranial Bones observable in that Class. Proc. Zool. Soc. London (1867), 415–472.
Stejneger, L.: Standard Natural History. Boston (1885), 4, Birds (part). An outline of Stejneger’s scheme of classification may be found in the Zoological Record (1885), 22, pt. Aves. 14–18.
Fürbringer, M.: Untersuchungen zur Morphologie und Systematik der Vogel, Zugleich ein Beitrage zur Anatomie der Stütz- und Bewegungsorgane. Royal Zoological Society, Amsterdam (1888). For reviews of Fürbringer’s classification see Gadow, Nature (1888), 39, 150–152; 177–181, and Evans, Zool. Record, Aves (1888), 25, 14–16.
Evans, A. H.: Cambridge Natural History, Birds. New York and London (1900), 9, XI–XVI (Scheme of Classification).
Gadow, H.: On the Classification of Birds. Proc. Zool. Soc. London (1892), 229–256.
Dubois, A.: Synopsis Avium. Brussels (1899–1904), 1–1339, pls. 1–16.
Ridgway, R.: The Birds of North and Middle America. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. Washington (1901), No. 50, pt. 1, 1–12.
Clark, H. L.: The Classification of Birds. Auk (1901), new ser., 18, 370–381.
Shufeldt, R. W.: An Arrangement of the Families and Higher Groups of Birds. Am. Naturalist (1904), 38, 833–857.

[↑]

USE OF THE KEYS.

A key is a short cut used to approximate identification without reading a great number of descriptions. The keys given here differ in no essential particular from those to be found in other systematic works on ornithology, but for the benefit of the beginner their use may be briefly explained.

Having in hand an unknown bird begin with the key to the Orders (p. [7]), reading first the line beginning a¹; if the specimen has the characters given after a¹ then the bird belongs to the Order Pelecaniformes and another key is to be used which will be found under that order, (p. [200]). If the characters on the line after a¹ are not found in the specimen, then those given on the line a² are to be examined and these the specimen must have, if no mistake has been made. The next choice is between b¹ and b² and so on until characters are found which agree with those of the specimen and at the same time lead to a word at the right printed in heavy face type; this is the name of the order to which the specimen belongs.

Having determined the order turn to the page where the order begins and use the key there which leads to the suborders or to the families, then find and use the keys to genera and species.