Mr. W. T. Blanford on 'Stray Feathers/ 221 



But there is something else to notice in the particular case 

 of Polyplectron intermedium. Not only is the name given 

 to a race which is, by the author of the title, believed to be 

 the true P. chinquis, Temm., but it is given to no complete 

 specimen of the bird, but merely to a few tail-feathers. 

 Against this practice I beg to protest. It is bad enough 

 that, as in the Dicranoceras of Marsh, three generic names 

 should be given to different bones of the same fossil mammal : 

 but this is, to a certain extent, inevitable; for only fragments of 

 extinct animals are usually found. But with living species 

 it might at least be required that, to avoid confusion, each 

 describer should have a complete specimen before him, and 

 that names given to tail-feathers of birds and similar frag- 

 ments should not be recognized. For if one name is ap- 

 plied to the tail-feathers, why should not a second be given 

 to the quills, and a third to the head or legs ? and how is any 

 one to identify a bird with a supposed species of which merely 

 the tail-feathers are known ? A well-known naturalist lately 

 described as the type of a new genus and species the skull of 

 a tortoise, on the carapace of which he had already founded 

 another genus and species ; and I believe that no rule would 

 be more worthy of general acceptance amongst naturalists 

 than one specifying that all names given to imperfect speci- 

 mens should be null and void, in the same manner as MS. 

 names. The history of the supposed species of Argus Phea- 

 sants recently founded on a few feathers believed to belong 

 to birds unknown to science is instructive on this subject, 

 since the original author of the name first given now seems 

 to doubt whether any of the feathers in question belong to 

 birds of the genus Argus at all, whilst some of the feathers 

 figured in Mr. Elliot's 'Monograph of the Phasianidje' as 

 primaries of one of the unknown species are declared to be 

 rectrices of Pavo muticus ! (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. July 1872, 

 p. 67). 



To return to ' Stray Feathers/ In a note on the Skylarks 

 of India, Mr. Hume considers that there are two well-marked 

 species, one a form of Alauda arvensis, L., the other the bird 

 (comprising several local varieties) commonly known as A. 



