19^^'] Lellers, Extracts, and Notes. 335 



the American Ornithologists' Union will see their way to 

 return to the older and as they believe to the correct usage 

 of the genus Colymbus in the near future/^ 



My point is that, notwithstanding this expression of 

 opinion, the Editor of ' The Ibis ' has allowed contributors 

 to adopt the objectionable transposition complained of. 

 Other equally indefensible changes have been attempted 

 in the ' Hand-list of Birds/ notably the transposition of 

 the scientific names of the Song-Thrush and Redwing; but 

 fortunately in this case the Committee of the B. O. U. have 

 very properly condemned it. Would that they had displayed 

 equal courage in resisting other innovations. 



(2) I very much object to the constant changes of names 

 that are made on the score of priority, and in defiance of 

 the strongly-worded protest that was made by leading 

 zoologists, on the initiative of Dr. Boulenger^ at a meeting 

 of the Zoological Society in 1908. I was not present at 

 that meeting or I should certainly have signed the protest 

 referred to, having been long convinced of the confusion 

 and inconvenience which have been caused by the reckless 

 changes complained of. 



(3) I deplore also the amount of time expended, and 

 valuable space wasted in describing so-called '' subspecies," 

 based either on individual variation or on the most trivial 

 differences, which are wholly insufficient to entitle them to 

 recognition. 



If any particular bird can be shown to be specifically 

 distinct from anot>her to which it is evidently nearly related, 

 by all means give it a specific name with a recognisable 

 description ; but if it differs only in such trivial particulars 

 as mere shade of colour, slight difference in size, or infini- 

 tesimal variation in length of bill or wing, such variations 

 can surely be pointed out in a few words without burdening 

 the list of species with new names. This practice therefore 

 should be discouraged by the Committee, and discontinued 

 in 'The Ibis' at all events. For it is not only of no prac- 

 tical value, but the results are most em harassing and 

 irritating to readers when descriptions of new subspecies 



