36 Mr. Strickland's Commentary 



time previously to 1831, will probably turn out to have the prior 

 claim to all others. 



P. 56. The Centropus cegyptius (Gm.) seems to be the same a» 

 C. senegalensis (Lin.), which latter name will therefore prevail. 



The name Coua, Levaill., was, I believe, never used as a Latin 

 word, tod therefore ought not to supersede Serisomus, Sw. 



The Cuculus guira, Gm., distinguished by having only eight 

 feathers in the tail, ought surely to be generically separated from the 

 " four- winged Cuckoos" (Diplopterus, Boie). The former constitutes 

 the group Guira, Less., 1831, of which Octopteryx, Kaup., 1836, and 

 Ptiloleptus, Sw., 1837, are synonymes. The type will stand as 

 Guira piriragua (VieilL), Cuculus guira, Gm., Ptiloleptus cristatus, 

 Sw. 



P. 57. Should not Ptilonopus be written Ptilopus} (from tttiKov 

 and TTovs). 



Is Treron, Vieill., prior to Vinago, Cuv. ? Cuvier says of the latter 

 name, " Vieillot has changed it to Treron." 



P. 58. Turtur was first used as a generic name by Mr. Selby in 

 1835. 



The name of the first genus of Gourincd should be altered from 

 Peristera, Sw., to Phaps, Selby, and the second from Leptoptila, 

 Sw., to Peristera, Sw. In 1827 Mr. Swainson defined an American 

 group as Peristera, and in 1 835 Mr. Selby defined an Australian 

 group as Phaps. So far all was well; but in 1837 Mr. Swainson 

 thought proper to transfer his name Peristera to the Phaps of Selby, 

 and to give anew name, Leptoptila (misspelt Leptotila), to the genus 

 which he had previously called Peristera. It behoves the advocates 

 of the priority principle to discountenance such wanton changes by 

 bringing back these genera to their original designations. 



The specific name jamaicensis, Lin., should supersede ruf axilla, 

 Wagl. 



P. 59. I see no reason why the name Geophilus, Selby (restr.), 

 should not be retained for the Columba nicobarica, as Dr. Fleming 

 did not include it in his genus Verrulia, and consequently Geophilus 

 is not the precise equivalent of Verrulia. 



To the synonymes of Goura, Flem., add Megapelia, Kaup. 



Chamapetes should be written Chamcepetes . 



If Mitu be retained as a generic name, it should be Latinized into 

 Mitua. Lesson is, I believe, the first author who attached the name 

 of Mitu to a genus, and it should therefore be quoted on his autho- 

 rity, not on Marcgrave's. 



P. 60. Syrmaticus reevesi ought to bear the name of S. superbus 

 (Lin.). There can be no doubt that this is the species intended by 

 Linnaeus, though his description of his Phasianus superbus, taken from 

 Chinese documents, is by no means accurate. We have the autho- 

 rity of Temminck and Sir W. Jardine for this identification. 



To the synonymes of Euplocomus add Spicifer, Kaup., 1836. 



The Impeyan Pheasant is the true type of Lophophorus, Tem., 

 4813, and this name should therefore supersede Monaulus, Vieill. 



