236 Correspondence. ^ b^ 



LApr, 



Vernacular Names of Birds. 



Editors of 'The Auk'. 



Dear Sirs: — The subject of vernacular names of birds is not of 

 supreme importance in ornithology, but, since it has been opened, I 

 hope I may be allowed to make a little suggestion. First let me say, 

 though I am well aware that Dr. Allen's views need no endorsement from 

 me, that I am in entire accord with them in the matter of hyphenating, 

 and this in spite of a tendency toward purism which should perhaps lead 

 me to stand by the dictionaries and Dr. Doran. It has always seemed to 

 me that the words 'song,' 'tree,' 'swamp,' etc., as used in connection 

 with the names of sparrows are as truly adjectival in sense as if they 

 were actual adjectives instead of nouns, and I can see no' good reason why 

 the combinations should be differentiated in form from such names as 

 'chipping sparrow' and 'white-throated sparrow.' The case of 'quail- 

 dove ' is different, of course, as are those of ' water-thrush ' and ' meadow- 

 lark.' Personally I should have preferred ' meadow-lark,' ' night-hawk, 

 etc., reserving the single-word form for the more familiar compounds of 

 the word ' bird,' but I cheerfully follow the A. O. U. in vernacular as well 

 as in the scientific names. (There is just one bit of sentimentalism in 

 the list, which I cannot countenance : I refuse to call a snow bunting a 

 ' snowflake.' I also prefer, in conversation, to speak of white-bellied 

 instead 'white-breasted' nuthatches.) 



But, to come to the point of this communication, it seems to me that 

 a much more serious difficulty than that of the hyphens is the lack of 

 qualifying or what I may call 'specific' and ' subspecific ' adjectives for 

 the names of certain birds like the chickadee, the horned lark, the red- 

 poll, and the towhee. Why should we not have full vernacular names for 

 Parus atriaipillus, Oiocoris alpestris^ Acanthis linaria, Pipilo erythroph- 

 thalmits, etc., which will tell exactly what species and subspecies is 

 referred to in any given case without the help of the scientific name.-* 

 We should not always have to use the complete name, of course, but it 

 would be convenient to have one to use when needed and one that is 

 sanctioned by the Union. I hope that this matter may be considered by 

 the Committee on Nomenclature when the next edition of the Check-List 

 is prepared. 



Francis H. Allen. 



Bosto7t, ATass. 



A Rare Work on American Ornithology. 



Editors of ' The Auk ' : — 



Dear Sirs: — Captain Thomas Brown's folio 'Illustrations of the 

 American Ornithology of Wilson and Bonaparte' is such a scarce book 

 that you may deem it worthy of a notice in your pages. By a careful 



