Letters, Announcements, 6fc. 301 



found throughout Southern India, and has constantly a black 

 back ; and T. cambayensis, just as common in Northern India, 

 and having always a brown back. But near Ellose, where 

 the two races meet, I could only find intermediate forms ; and 

 Hume has noticed {' Stray Feathers/ i. p. 182) that precisely 

 similar birds are found in Sind, Gujerat, and Rajpatana. Other 

 well-known cases are those of the Indian and Burmese Rollers, 

 and the black-and-white-crested Kalij Pheasants ; and I could 

 name some other instances. 



Are we to give up the British-Association rules of zoolo- 

 gical nomenclature as hopeless ? I am quite willing to admit 

 that their success amongst zoologists in general, at home and 

 abroad, has not been remarkable. Still they are the best we 

 have : if they are objectionable in any way, let them be re- 

 formed, but let ornithologists at least abide by them till we 

 have something better in their place. In the last number of 

 'The Ibis,^ p. 173, Dr. Sclater takes Mr. Dresser to task for 

 " falling a victim to the prevaiHng epidemic for discovering 

 antiquated names and giving them precedence over those 

 generally in use," because Mr. Dresser, in accordance with 

 the British-Association rules, uses the names given by Lin- 

 naeus, Pallas, Giildenstadt, and Ehrenberg for various species 

 of Saxicolce, in place of the later names applied by Yieillot, 

 Temminck, and others. I dare say the rules might be altered 

 with advantage ; for instance, I think it would be very de- 

 sirable to draw up a list of the works which should be recog- 

 nized amongst those published prior to some given date, say 

 1800, and to agree to ignore all others. Thus we should get 

 rid of pamphlets like that of Boddaert. The difficulty of 

 course is to induce individuals to agree to any rules. 



This, however, is by the way. I only wish to point out 

 how discouraging it is, to those who wish to render zoological 

 nomenclature rather less chaotic than it is at present (orni- 

 thologists have but a faint idea of the confusion which exists 

 in some departments, e.g. malacology), to find so eminent a 

 naturalist as Dr. Sclater, one who has done good work him- 

 self in the cause, turning against those who are endeavouring 

 to uphold law and order. What has possessed our worthy 



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