190 Stone, Changes in Generic Names of American Birds. [ \i',rii 



verifying bird names and dates of publication for many years, and 

 whose knowledge of the literature is unrivalled, has cordially aided 

 me in every way possible and to him I would express my deep 

 obligations. 



My investigations show that the strict enforcement of the Code, 

 especially several recent amendments and alterations, will necessi- 

 tate a number of changes in generic names, while at the same time 

 it places the genera on a more substantial basis than before. As 

 a matter of future record I present below a list of apparently neces- 

 sary changes, and discussions of other cases which are at least open 

 to question. Some of these cases have already been published, 

 others are contributed by Dr. Richmond, and the rest have origi- 

 nated in my investigations. 



I. Overlooked Names or Earlier Citations of 

 Current Names. 



Podiceps Lath. 1787 (not 1790), becomes Tachybaptus Reich. 

 1849. — This name first appeared in Latham's Synopsis of Birds, 

 Suppl., I, p. 294, the type (first species) being Colymbus cristatus 

 Linn. It thus becomes a pure synonym of Colymbus of the Check- 

 List and a new name must be employed for the subgenus embrac- 

 ing P. dominions and its allies. This is found in Tachybaptus 

 Reichenbach, Av. Syst. Nat., pi. ii, 1849, based on the Little 

 Grebe, Colymbus ruficollis Pallas. 



Simorhynchus Merr. 1819, becomes ^Ethia Dumont, 1816. — 

 /Ethia Dumont, Diet. Sci. Nat., rev. ed., I, suppl. p. 71 (1816), 

 based exclusively upon A. cristatellus (Alca cristatella Pallas), has 

 clear priority over Simorhynchus Merrem based upon the same 

 species. 



Aythya Boie, 1822, becomes Nyroca Fleming, 1822. — Another 

 spelling of the preceding name, viz. Aethya, which is given by 

 Dumont on the same page, seems to invalidate Boie's Aythya for 

 a group of ducks. The next available name for the latter is Nyroca 

 Fleming, Philos. of Zool., II, p. 260, type by tautonomy Marila 

 nyroca. There has always been a question of priority between 

 these two names, so that it is satisfactory to have one of them 

 invalidated. The enforcement of the rule of relative page preced- 

 ence, moreover, leads to the same result. 



