C2 KENDALL, Some Notes on Vernacular Names [ist'luly 



There are several problems to be faced. If one consults such a 

 work as the " Catalogue of Nests and Eggs " of the British Museum, 

 he- finds that local vernacular names do not coincide with those 

 used by such high authorities. Taking one genus of Australian 

 birds mentioned in vol. ii. of that work for example, it is noticeable 

 that what in our list is called the Masked Plover is there described 

 as " Gould's Wattled Lapwing," that our Hooded Dottrel and 

 others of the family are classed as " Plovers," and so on. This 

 is a difficulty which will have to be dealt with, but is one which 

 will probably remain in an unsatisfactory state until an inter- 

 national commission be appointed to draw up a list for the use of 

 the whole world. Another trouble is that some of our vernacular 

 names need reconsideration ; but this, again, is a matter which 

 our scientific ornithologists will be able to deal with ; and a third, 

 yet to those who have to write the names frequently by no means 

 a minor one, is the form some of these names should assume. 

 The chief phase of the last-named difficulty is as to the use or 

 disuse of the hyphen and capital letters in " compound words." 



The use or disuse of the hyphen is often a troublesome problem 

 to others than ornithologists, and it is one which has recently 

 been receiving attention in that home of " live " bird-lovers, the 

 United States of America. Recognizing that " vernacular names 

 are perhaps more often employed by scientists than formerly," 

 and that " it is important, first, that these names be correct (that 

 is, formed in accordance with some established principles of 

 construction "), Dr. Edwin W. Doran has contributed to the 

 January number of The Auk (vol. xx., No. i, pp. 38-42) a note- 

 worthy article on the subject. The phase of the question with 

 which he particularly deals is the " great lack of uniformity in 

 writing the compound vernacular names of birds," and he con- 

 siders that, so far as the American Check-List is concerned, " a 

 majority of ornithologists seem to have selected incorrect forms." 



With the " Standard Dictionary" as his authority, Dr. Doran 

 proceeds on the sound principle " that abnormal association of 

 words generally indicates unification of sense, and hence com- 

 pounding in form." Taking our own (A.A.A.S.) Vernacular List, 

 it may be worth while to see how far the principles he cites would 

 affect the names as published therein. The rules are : — 



Rules for Compounding Vernacular Names of Birds. 

 Write as a compound word : 



1. A general name used with any other name prefixed for specification 



and denoting food or prey (Cherry-Bird, Sparrow-Hawk). 



2. A general name used with any other name prefixed tor specification 



denoting — 



a. Similarity (Quail-Dove). 



b. Habit (Butcher-Bird). 



c. Characteristic (Song-Sparrow). 



d. Habitat (House-Sparrow). 



