Recently published Ornithological Works. 117 



least of it, incomplete*: and it is too much to expect us to 

 give up well-established terms for names which have remained 

 unnoticed since their authors invented them a century ago. 

 Excellent reasons may be found for rejecting any terms given 

 by Schaffer, Gunnerus (!), and Hasselquist. The use of a 

 name is to distinguish the object to which it is applied ; and 

 as no one would recognize a lledstart as " Phcenicurus eri- 

 thacus," or an Ivory Gull as *' Gavia alba," it would be 

 worse than useless to employ such terms. It seems to us to 

 be always a most unsatisfactory piece of work to endeavour to 

 upset old-established names. We have constantly protested 

 against similar proposals made by Mr. Dresser and Mr. Sharpe, 

 and we protest against those made by Mr. Stejneger. 



46. Stejneger on the Swans. 



[Outlines of a Monograph of the Oygmn<B. By Leonhard Stejneger. 

 Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1882, p. 174.] 



After discussing the general characters of the Cygninai at 

 some length, the author concludes to exclude Coscoroba as 

 belonging more strictly to the Anatinae. He recognizes 4 

 genera of Swans — (1) Sthenelus (gen. nov. for C. nigricollis) , 

 (2) Cygnus, (3) Olor, (4) Chenopis — besides Palaocycnus (gen. 

 nov.) for the extinct C. falconeri. The species are described 

 at full length ; but we regret to find that Mr. Stejneger wishes 

 to call the Mute Swan Cygnus gibbus and the Hooper Olur 

 cygnus, besides making other unnecessary and objectionable 

 changes in nomenclature. A hypothetical new name, Cygnus 



* [£". y. Mr. Stejneger proposes a new term '■^ I'lectrophoiax'''' for the 

 Snow-Bunting, instead of Plectrophancs, because, he says, the latter 

 = Calcarius (Beclist. 1803), of which the type is the Frint/illa lapjjonica, 

 Linn. But, although it is quite true that, in the preface to his * Vogel 

 Liv- und-Esthland ' (1815), Meyer casually mentioned the term Plectra- 

 phanes as applicable to Fringilla lappunica only, we find, on reference to 

 the 'Zusatze u. Bericht. zu Meyer & Wolf's Taschenbuch,' 1822 (in which 

 the genus was first properly characterized), that Pkctrophanes was intended 

 to include both Frinyilla lappojiica and Emberiza nivalis. We maintain 

 therefore that, after applying Calcarius to the former bird, we are quite 

 justified in continuing the use of the universally adopted Plecirophanei 

 for the latter. — Edp.] 



