8 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



ing and lying flat on my back in tlie Ijot- 

 tom of tlie scow I succeeded in getting as 

 «lose as I wished, and suddenly raised up 

 with both barrels of my gun at full cock. 

 The birds started up with a loud roar and 

 I poured one barrel into the tliickly packed 

 ranks of the Skimmers, and the other into 

 the Terns. The result was seven Black 

 Skimmers killed and wounded, and three 

 Royal Terns, which I thought good con- 

 sidering the size of the gun, but I had to 

 skip around lively to get all of the birds, 

 as some were only wing-broken. 



94 American Herring Gull, 666a ; com- 

 mon about the larger bodies of water. 



95 Ring-billed Gull, 668 : common in 

 Port Royal Sound. 



96 Laughing Gull, 673 ; common in Port 

 Royal Sound. I secured several by throw- 

 ing overboard a dead Tern or Gull, when 

 they would hover over me near enough to 

 shoot. 



97 Bonaparte's Gull. 675 ; abundant in 

 Port Royal Sound and along the ocean 

 beach. Easily drawn within gunshot in 

 the same manner as the last mentioned 

 species. 



Roj'al Tern, 681 ; abundant in Port Roy- 

 al Sound and along the outside flats, some- 

 times going lip the creeks in search of 

 food. I shot on^ specimen flying down a 

 small creek, within a few rods of the 

 house. 



99 Cabot's Tern, 683 : not uncommon 

 fl,long the outside flats off Port Royal En- 

 trance. I shot a beautiful specimen in 

 Port Royal Sound near the mouth of Sta- 

 tion Creek. The skin is now in my 

 musenm. 



100 Forster's Tern. OfSo i abundant in 

 the creeks, inlets and along the ocean \ 

 beach. I have thrown ox erboard one dead j 

 bird of this species when I saw a Hock l 

 passing, and as soon as they came within 

 gunshot, commenced tiring and kept it up 

 until my gun barrels were so hot I could 

 not bear my hand on it to take out the 

 empty shells and until the water around 

 the scow was nearly covered with tlie dead 

 and crippled liirds. 



101 Coniiiion. Tern. 6.'^6 : a few sjicei- 



mens taken, in company with the preceding 

 species. 



103 Least Tern, 690 ; becoming common 

 just as 1 left. Frequenting the creeks and 

 marshes. The day before leaving I made 

 the last sally in my scow and fell in with 

 a flock of these birds, ttventy of which I 

 secured before I gave up the chase. 



103 Horned Grebe, 733 ; Common in 

 Port Royal Sound and the larger creeks and 

 inlets, but all in the winter plumage. 



The reader will further pardon the writer 

 for the incompleteness of the above notes 

 when I state that some of my time was 

 occupied in skinning over thirteen hundred 

 specimens. W. W. Worthington, 



Shelter Island. N. Y. 



Scientific Names. 



The "Collector from Massachusetts," 

 quoted in the February number of The 

 Young OOlogist, did, as the editor af- 

 firmed, but echo the thoughts of the ma- 

 jority of young students of Ornithology 

 when he asked if a beginner must learn all 

 the different names which have been given 

 lo each species of our birds, and when he 

 pleaded for a standard system of nomen- 

 clature, so that there might be but one sci- 

 entific name to be learned. 



It will, doubtless, be gratifj'ing to the 

 "Collector from Massachusetts" and all 

 others of my brother amateurs who are in- 

 terested, to learn that such a standard is 

 now being iirepared, and may possibly be 

 issued during the present, year. 



At the first congress of the American 

 Ornithologists' Union, held in New York 

 in September, 1883, a committee was ap- 

 pointed to maKe "A Revision of the Class- 

 ification and Nomenclature of North 

 American Birds." The present writer had 

 the honor of moving that resolution, and 

 the gentlemen appointed to take charge of 

 this important duty were Mr. .1. A. Allen, 

 Dr. Coues, Mr. Ridgway. Mr. H. W. Hen- 

 shaw and Mr. William Brewster. 



At the S(«ond congress of the A. O. U., 

 held also in New York, this committee pre- 

 sented a preliminary report, an abstract of 



