Nomenclature of the British Owls. 349 



is likewise best to put aside as a dubious term. It remains, 

 therefore, to employ as the name of the Short-eared Owl the 

 very appropriate and universally known name, " brachyotus " 

 of Forster, which was promulgated by Forster in his paper 

 read before tlie Eoyal Society on the 18th of June 1773, and 

 published^ only one year after Pallas's " accijjiirina." 



The term Strice having been relegated to its proper place 

 as the generic name of the Baru-Owl, we are enabled to restore 

 to the Tawny Owl the well-known name " Syrnium " of 

 Savigny (1809), which has met with such general adoption. 



The next question that arises is as to the correct specific 

 name of the Great Horned Owl, Strix bubo of Linnaeus, as- 

 suming that we are justified, as I think we are, in regarding 

 that species as the type of Dumeril's gQxms, Bubo\ (1806). 

 Prof. Newton employs " ignavusj" quoting " Bubo ignavus, 

 T. Forster, Synoptical Catalogue of British Birds, p. 3 (1817).'' 

 But on referring to this scarce pamphlet, I find that Forster 

 gave no such name to the Great Horned Owl. In his preface 

 Forster says, " The large capitals (of my list) will designate 

 the Linnsean name according to the arrangement now adopted. 

 The small Roman letters will mark the names of the old writers 

 brought to life again by Dr. Leach.'"' 



Now " Bubo ignavus " is printed in romans, thus : — 

 " STRIX BUBO .... Bubo ignavus/' 

 and is evidently only one of the '' names o£ the old writers 

 brought to life again by Dr. Leach." Forster's name for the 

 Eagle Owl is " Strix bubo," as will be perfectly plain to any 

 one who refers to his ' Catalogue;' and to attribute the name 

 ''Bubo ignavus" to Forster is clearly a mistake. What 

 Forster did was to publish in 1817 a MS. name of Dr. Leach, 

 or of some other old author, as a synonym, which he did not 

 adopt himself. This name must therefore be rejected. 



♦ Phil. Trans. Ixii. p. 384 (1772). 



t Dumeril created his genus for the " Chouettes a oreilles de Linne," 

 which are strictly equivalent to Brisson's '^ Asio.^' But as he elevated 

 the specific term Bubo to generic rank, I think we may assume that he 

 considered Strix bubo as his type. 



