SCIENTIFIC NOMENCLATURE 21 



its "generic" name; that of a species, as its "specific" name; and that 

 of a subspecies, as its "subspecific" name. 



A species not divided into subspecies is referred to by its specific 

 name and, when written, the specific name is preceded by the capital 

 letter denoting its Genus; e.g., C. rossi (Ross's Goose). A species divided 

 into subspecies is also referred to by its specific name, when reference to 

 the whole group is intended. B. canadensis, for example, refers to all 

 five geese in the group of that species. A subspecies is referred to by its 

 subspecific name, which when written is preceded by the first letter of 

 both its Generic. and its specific name; e.g., A. a. gambelli (The Tule 

 Goose). 



It will now be clear that the complete scientific name of a bird con- 

 sists of a combination of its Generic and specific (and subspecific) names. 

 In writing the name, the use of initial letters, as explained in the pre- 

 ceding paragraph, is for convenience and brevity. The Generic name is 

 always written (or abbreviated) with a capital letter, the specific and 

 subspecific names with a small letter. 



THE TYPE FORM. It will be observed that the subspecific name 

 of a bird is sometimes the same as the name of the species; e.g., Anas 

 fulvigula julvigula (The Florida Duck). This is because when the 

 species was first described it consisted of only one member, A. fulvigula. 

 Later, when another variety or subspecies was discovered and distin- 

 guishing names had to be provided for both varieties, the original bird 

 was honoured by receiving, as its subspecific name, the name of the 

 species, and became known as the "type" form of the species, and gen- 

 erally considered "typical" of the species, though not necessarily so. 



The scientific names are generally of Greek or Latin origin, or are 

 Latinized forms of modern words or names; they usually have reference 

 to some habit or characteristic of the bird. The meanings and pronun- 

 ciations of the scientific names are given in conjunction with the descrip- 

 tion of each species or subspecies and are of great interest. In ornithol- 

 ogy, the name of the Family always terminates in -idae (Anatidae), and 

 the names of the Subfamilies end in -inae (Anserinae, Merginae). 



STANDARDIZED NOMENCLATURE. Final agreement on the 

 subject of nomenclature has not been reached. Authorities differ in 

 their views of the relationship which exists between certain species. 

 The nomenclature adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union 

 (1931) as well as that of J. L. Peters in his Check List of Birds of the 

 World (1931) is quoted, both on the Family Tree Chart and through- 

 out the text of this work. 



