LETTEIS 



BRITISH BIRD-NAMES. 



To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs,— Under the title "The B.O.U. List of British Birds" the 

 authors of the Hand-list have given a review of that List and, as 1 

 anticipated, have at once agreed to some of the obvious emendations 

 upon their own work which are there recorded. In well-chosen 

 phrases they have expressed the aims and views of the priority-hunter. 

 I would quote one only: " Our sole interest in nomenclature is centred 

 in the desire for uniformity and fixity." With this sentence clearly 

 in mind, I offer the following remarks on some of the B.O.U. List 

 alterations rejected by the authors of the Hand-list. 



APUS. 



This name is apparently to be retained under the quotation of the 

 Recommendation attached to Article 3(1 This case, however, is 

 governed by Opinion 30 where errors of transliteration are amenable 

 to emendation. This Opinion was concurred in by Dr. Hartert. 

 The facts are : Scopoli proposed Apos for Monoculus Apus : the 

 correct transliteration is Apwi, and so Scope li's name was corrected 

 and has been so used for too many years to consider. This usage is 

 now endorsed by Opinion 36 and there is no recourse. Later in the 

 same work Scopoli proposed Apus for Hirundo Apus. This name was 

 rejected consistently until the last few years, and even most of its 

 supporters have now abandoned that position. The argument that 

 Scopoli intended to use two different words is not borne out by 

 criticism of Scopoli's work, and it was not unusual for the early workers 

 to use the same name in two different groups. Even Linne did thus. 

 To achieve uniformity earlier the rejection of Apus is urged. 



HIRUNDO. 



Dr. Hartert's argument that Forster fixed the type by his action 

 is not endorsed by the International Commission, as they have already 

 given their Opinion (62) against this, and there is no need for another 

 Opinion but the acceptance of Hirundo as used in the B.O. U. List. 



COLYMBUS. 



Here is a rather serious mistake. It is written : " It has already 

 been decided by a special committee appointed by the International 

 Commission that Colymbus must be used for the Grebes (c/. IX. Congr. 

 Intern. ZooL, p. 862)." This suggests that the matter was there 

 settled, but this is not so. The List there put forward by the special 

 committee was not endoi-sed but was referred back for reconsideration 

 and I have good reason to state that this name will be reconsidered 

 in view of the new fact recorded by Mr. Mathews and myself (Ibis 1913, 

 p. 217), which was unknown when the special committee drew up 

 their List. Under the Laws and Opinions Colymbus must be used 

 for the Divers. 



