V °\™ VI ] General Notes. 279 



to have overlooked the matter. In view of the facts in this case it will 

 apparently now be necessary to reinstate Baird's name Heteroscelus as 

 as the generic designation of the Wandering Tattler. The two species of 

 the genus will therefore stand as follows: 



Heleroscelus brevipes (Vieillot). 



Heteroscelus incanus (Gmelin) . 



Harry C. Oberholser, Washington, D. C. 



The Status of Charadrius rubricollis Gmelin. — A good service has 

 been performed by Mr. G. M. Mathews in the identification of Chara- 

 drius rubricollis Gmelin. Unfortunately, however, he neglects to employ 

 this name for the species to which he has shown that it belongs (Birds 

 of Australia, III, pt. 2, May 2, 1913, pp. 130-132). It was originally 

 based by Gmelin (Syst. Nat., I, pt. 2, 1789, p. 687) on the " Red-necked 

 Plover " of Latham, from Adventure Bay, Tasmania. As Mr. Mathews 

 has proved, Latham's description (Syn. Birds, III, pt. 1, p. 212, No. 19) 

 was taken from the Ellis drawings in the British Museum, and is found to 

 fit the species currently called Charadrius cucullatus Vieillot, except for 

 the statement that there is "on each side of the neck a large square chest- 

 nut spot, the size of a silver penny, almost meeting together at the back 

 part," and " a little mixture of white about the bastard wing," which 

 two characters evidently were taken by mistake from the drawing of 

 Steganopus tricolor. This is, therefore, a case of two species confused 

 under the same name; or of a species described with partly erroneous 

 characters; or, in fact, of both, according to the point of view. If we 

 consider only that the characters given have been taken from two species, 

 the name Charadrius rubricollis must be used for one of the species involved 

 if the name can be identified, and that it can, Mr. Mathews has shown. 

 Such adoption is sanctioned by both the International and A. O. U. Codes 

 of Nomenclature, and by common usage as well. The name, therefore, 

 should apply to the species to which the greater or most pertinent part of 

 the description refers, which in this case is, of course, Charadrius cucidlatus. 

 If, however, we take the view that it is erroneously described, neither 

 current usage nor the commonly accepted codes of nomenclature allow its 

 rejection because of indefinite or even erroneous characters, if the descrip- 

 tion can be positively determined as pertaining to a certain species. Thus, 

 in any case, we should call the species ordinarily known as Charadrius 

 cucullatus Vieillot by the name Charadrius rubricollis Gmelin. Its two 

 forms will, therefore, stand as Charadrius rubricollis rubricollis Gmelin 

 and Charadrius rubricollis tregellasi Mathews. — Harry C. Oberholser, 

 Washington, D. C. 



A Self-tamed Ruffed Grouse. — The following is an account of a 

 tame Ruffed Grouse: the first statement is by Miss Torrey. In the spring 

 of 1914, probably in April, as I was driving back and forth to the village 

 to High School, I first noticed a rustling ' in the leaves and bushes by the 



