List of British Birds

Excerpt from A List of British Birds: The Genera Arranged According to Sundevall's Method The uses of a Catalogue such as the following are manifold. The names can be cut out and used as labels; it shows at a glance what birds may rightly be considered British, their proper scientific designation, and to a certain extent their affinities; it can be compared with similar lists of the birds of other countries; and it can conveniently be marked as an index to a collection either of skins or eggs, or to show species desired in exchange, or to record the occurrence or nesting of birds in particular localities. § II. - Of The Limits Of The British Avi-Fauna. The present list is meant to comprise those birds only which have at least once, beyond doubt, occurred in a truly wild state within the area of the British Isles. No other definition of a British bird is strictly tenable. Ornithological literature teems with records of alien species, the validity of whose occurrence may possibly have been overlooked; but here it is advisable not to recognize any authority which can be impugned, - to follow, as far as may be, in the steps of Professor Newton in his current revision of the new edition of Yarrell's standard 'History of British Birds.' § III. - Of Nomenclature. In view of the importance of a scientifically accurate use of names, the British Association, in 1842, appointed a Committee of some of the most eminent biologists of the day "to consider the rules by which the nomenclature of zoology might be established on a uniform and permanent basis." In an elaborate explanatory report they enunciated fourteen principles, the majority of which may well be reprinted here verbatim : - "§ 1. - The name originally given by the founder of a group or the describer of a species should be permanently retained, to the exclusion of all subsequent synonyms (with the exceptions about to be noticed). About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.