Vo % lU ] Correspondence. 1 85 



of the latter, however (especially Rallus saturates " Hensh."), it is hard 



to see where the author of the MS. name had any claim over those of the 

 first four cases. 



In the Supplements to the Cheek-List the Committee continued to ride 

 in favor of the author of the MS. name, but in the new edition which has 

 just appeared they reversed their ruling, changing the authorities for a 

 number of names, ami have almost universally ignored the MS. author 

 and quoted the publisher.' In two instances, however, the ' MS. author' 

 still receives recognition, e.g.. Pipilo chlorurus (Towns.) and Otocoris 

 alpestris pallida Townsend. 



The first of these is described as Fringilla chlorura in Audubon's ( )rn. 

 Biog., V. p. 336. The entire description is a quotation from a letter of 

 V>\\ J K. Townsend. but the name is not credited to him and is not in 

 quotation marks: it is clearh Audubon's and without it the description 

 would have no status. Ord, in Guthrie's 'Geography,' gave names to 

 descriptions in the History of Lewis and Clarke's Expedition, and we do 

 not quote Lewis and Clarke; so far as I see the two cases are parallel. 



Otocoris alpestris pallida was discovered, described and named by Mr. 

 C. II. Townsend. and I presume his manuscript was in the U. S. Govern- 

 ment Printing.Office early in [890, or perhaps before. However, Mr. 

 Townsend lent his type to Dr. Dwight when he was preparing his mono- 

 graph of the American Horned Larks, and another description was pre- 

 pared and printed in Dr. Dwight's paper (Auk, April. [890, p. 1 54). 



Mr. Townsend's description did not appear till September. 1890 (judg- 

 ing from the date on which the paper was distributed). Dr. Dwight very 

 properly disclaimed any credit for the name and gave it as "Townsend 

 MS.," and in the A. (). I'. Check-List it is credited to Townsend. 



The reference, moreover, is that of Townsend's publication (Proc. L. S. 

 Nat. Mus., 1890, p. 13S), and Dr. Dwight's apparently earlier publication 

 is ignored. While 1 do not begrudge Mr. Townsend his Lark, and would 

 still give him full credit for it on the plan advocated above. I fail to see 

 why the Committee should make this special ruling. 



While discussing the rulings in the new Check-List I would like to call 

 attention to one or two instances which I take to be typographical errors, 

 though perhaps there may be some reasons for them that I have oxer- 

 looked. 



No. i.V'. Fratercula arctica glacialis (Temm.) is printed identically in 

 the two editions, but the reference to Temmink's work is omitted in the 

 new edition, and Stephens. (Jen. Z06I. 1826, given as the place of original 

 publication 1 should not the authority be changed to Stephens? 



An exactly similar case is 766a. Sialia sialis azurca. still credited to 

 " Swains.," though the place of original publication is changed to " Baird, 

 Rev. Am. B., July, 1SS4, p. 62." and no reference to Swainson appears. 



'This makes Gambel the authority for Callipepla gambelii or indicates that 

 he named the bird after himself, which he certainly did not intend to do! 

 23 



