jg I CouES, Zamelodia against Habia. "20 



F'igure 4. Variations in tlie barbules of the same feather. 



A, from near fig. i E. — Pigmented matter chieiiy in internodes. 



B, from near iig. i F. — No true black coloring matter present. 



C, from near fig. i G. — Shows 'bast-fibre' arrangement of brown 



granules. 



D, from near fig. i H. — Pigmented material almost lacking in in- 



ternodes. (Zeiss 4mm. apochromat. obj. and comp. ocular 

 No. 4. — Feather mounted dry.) 

 Fig. 5. A barbule much like that shown in C fig. 3, but more magnified. 

 (Zeiss 4mm. apochromat obj. and No. 6 comp. ocular. Mounted dry.) 



ZAMELODIA AGAINST HABIA. 



BY DR. ELLIOTT ^COUES. 



In creating the new generic name Zamelodia I said (Bull. Nutt. 

 Orn. Club, V, 1880, p. 98): "The genus Hedymeks^ Cab., 185 1, 

 was based upon this species [/. ^., Goniaphcea ludoviciand\^ but 

 cannot be used for it because of Hedymela^ Sundev. (Ofv. Vet 

 Akad. 1846, 223) for another genus of birds, the difference being" 

 merely dialectic. Cabanis seems to have proposed it simply 

 because ' Habia Reich. 1850 ' was not classically correct. But 

 Habia or Abia is said to be antedated by Habia, Lesson, 183 1, 

 and therefore untenable." 



In an article entitled ' Habia against Zainelodia^ Dr. L. 

 Stejneger said (Auk, Oct. 1884, p. 366) : "It is Agassiz (Nomcl. 

 Zool., Aves, p. 34 (1843)) who fii'st quotes ' Habia Z^.i-j-. Tr. d' 

 Ornith. 183 1,' — afterwards (Index Univers., p. i (1846)) 'cor- 

 recting ' it into Abia ; but an inspection of Lesson's ' Traite,' etc. 

 will show that Habia, as used by him, is only the French vernac- 

 ular name applied to the birds of the genus Saltator Vieill., 

 and Agassiz might just as well have cited ' Habia Vieill., Analyse, 

 18 1 6,' for that is the place where Vieillot himself applies the name 

 as the vernacular equivalent of the systematic name Saltator 

 proposed simultaneously." 



My duly appreciated critic then proceeded to prove " that 

 Habia was not used by Lesson or Vieillot as a systematic generic 



