312 General Notes. [^^'J 



GENERAL NOTES. 



The proper Generic Name of the Loons. — Formerly, and still to a 

 large extent, the Loons were referred to the genus Colymbus Linn., 1758. 

 Brisson, however, in 1760, restricted Colymbus to the Grebes {^cf. 

 Stejneger, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. V, 1SS2, 42J, in which ^ense it is used in 

 the A. O. U. Check-List, where Urinator Cuvier, 1799, is employed for 

 the Loons. There is, however, a perfectly tenable earlier name for the 

 Loons in Gavia Forster, 1788. Why it has been so long overlooked seems 

 unaccountable, as it is so well defined that its pertinency is beyond 

 question. 



Forster (Enchirid. Hist. Nat. 1788, 38) clearly distinguished the Grebes 

 as Co/yw^w^, as follows : " roi/rww subulatum, compressum. Pedes \oh?L\\, 

 Tibiae postice carinato-serratae." Next follows his genus Uria, for the 

 Auks, and then Gavia, characterized as follows: '■'■rostrum subulatum, 

 compressum. Pedes palmati, tetradactyli." This in itself is unequivo- 

 cally diagnostic, and taken in connection with the groups that precede and 

 follow Gavia, the conclusion that Gavia is here proposed for the Loons 

 is irresistible. 

 The main synonymy of the genus Gavia is as follows: 



Colymbus Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 10, I, 1758, 135 (in part). 



Gavia Forster, Enchirid, Hist. Nat. 17S8, 38. 



Urinator Cuvier, Anat. Comp. I, 1799, Tabl. ii. 



The Loons of the A. O. U. Check-List will therefore stand as follows : 



7. Gavia imber (Gunn.). 



8. Gavia adamsii (Gray). 



9. Gavia arctica (Linn.). 



10. Gavia pacifica (Lawr.). 



11. Gavia lumme (Gunn.). 



It also becomes necessary to change the name of the family from 

 Urinatoridffi to Gaviid.e. — J. A. Allen, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Nezv 

 York City. 



Uria lomvia, an Addition to the Avifauna Columbiana. — The recent 

 erratic movement of this species extended also to the Potomac at this 

 point, and adds another family to our list. Six specimens, all birds of 

 the season were obtained in this locality, as follows : 



No. I. Dec. 14, 1896. The first seen at the market. 

 " 2. " 20, " Occoquan Creek, Potomac River. 

 " 3. " 22, " (J , Potomac River, between Washington and 

 Alexandria. 



No. 4. Dec. 27, 1896. $ , Potomac River, between Washington and 

 Alexandria. 



No. 5. Dec. 28, 1896. 5 , Potomac River, between Washington and 

 Alexandria. 



No. 6. Jan. i, 1897. $, Potomac River, between Washington and 

 Alexandria. 



