V °i899 VI ] Elliot, Some Genera and Species. 22/ 



Cygnus and Olor in parallel columns, and it will be seen how hard 

 pushed he was to find any lines of separation between them. 



OLOR. CYGNUS. 



Predominant color of the adults Predominant color of the adults 



white. white. 



Young with downy or feathered Young with downy or feathered 



lores, the down on the sides of the lores, the down on the sides of the 



bill terminating far back of the bill terminating far back of the 



nostrils, and forming very distinct nostrils, and not forming distinct 



loral anthe. loral antue. 



Tertials and scapulars normal, Tertials and scapulars normal, 



not crisp. not crisp. 



Tail longer than the middle toe Tail longer than the middle toe 



with claw, rounded. with claw, cuneate. 



Inner webs of outer three pri- Inner webs of outer three pri- 

 maries and outer webs of the sec- maries and outer webs of second, 

 ond. third, and fourth sinuated. third, and fourth sinuated. Webs 

 Webs of the feet not scalloped. of the feet straight, not scalloped. 



The mountain has indeed labored and brought forth a mouse. 

 Did any one ever before see so little produced from so much ? 

 The above diagnoses are absolutely identical save in two particu- 

 lars, neither of which can be deemed as presenting generic char- 

 acters at all, or if they should be so mercifully regarded by some 

 compassionate writer, it could be at best only to permit them to 

 create a very doubtful status as subgenera. It will be observed 

 that the" only characters given by Wagler, the knob and nail on 

 the bill, and upon which he relied to establish his genera, are by 

 Stejneger entirely ignored, for the reason that will be shown 

 later on, and two others set up in their places. And what are 

 these, and where does he look for the chief one? In the adult, 

 or even in the immature bird ? No, but in the downy young. 

 When the newly hatched bird is devoid of feathers he founds a 

 generic character upon the outlines of the down that in a few days 

 will disappear and never be seen again throughout the bird's 

 existence ! This character (?) I have stated in the ' Wild Fowl,' to 

 be "an adolescent, evanescent, and unreliable distinction, one not 

 possessed by the adults, and which if recognized would place the 

 young in one genus, the adults in another." It is difficult to 



