Receiit Literature. 1 79 



hundred certainly would suffice, to eliminate the factor of ''contempo- 

 raneous courtesA'," and the shades of a few departed greatnesses mio-ht 

 not be offended by being invited to yield a point now and then for the 

 benefit of the many whom natural selection has not vet eliminated from 

 the struggle for existence. 



Stejneger's points seem to be well taken in the main ; and though we 

 have not yet had opportunity of verifying them, we presume the restitutions 

 and substitutions he proposes are available if not indeed necessary under 

 the priority statute. But has he in all cases taken up names which rest 

 upon diagnosis.? Does indication of a type-species make a generic name 

 valid.'' Some other objections might also be raised. We pass no judg- 

 ment, pcnde?ife lite, but simply note the following propositions advanced : 

 — Phceuicurus Forst., 1S17, for Ruticilla Naum., 1822. — Ciiiclus merula 

 Schaft". , 1789, for C. aquaticus Bechst. — Regnlus cristatus. V., 1807, for 

 R. satrapa Licht., 1S23. — Chelidon Forst., 1817, for Hinntdo L. at auct. 

 {rusfica, Qtc). — ■ Hirundo L.. 1758, for Chelidon 'Qo\&, 1S22. — Clivicola 

 sive Riparia Forst., 1S17, for Cotile Boie, 1S22. — C«/crt ;-/«.<; Bechst. , 1803, 

 for the birds now commonh' called Centrophanes, and Fleet ropJienax. g. 

 n., for '■ Pleetropkaiies" nivalis. — Otocoris Bp., 1839, ^°'' Eremophila. 

 preocc. in botan\-. and by Eremophilus in ichthyology. — Archibuteo nor- 

 vegiciis Gunnerus, 1767. for A. lagopus Gm. (but there is A. lagopus 

 Briinn, 1764). — Morinella M. & W., iSio. for Strepsilcis 111., i8n. — 

 Vtnicllns capella Schjiff., 1789. for V. cristatus M. & W., 1S03. — ^Sffia- 

 lifis alexandrinus, L., 1758, i'ov ^E. caiitianus Lath.. 1790. — Gallinago 

 reelcstis Freuzel. 1801, for G. media Leach, i8i6. — Totanus uebitlariiis 

 Gunnerus, 1767, for the Greenshank. — Pavoncella Leach, 1S16, for 

 Machetes Cuv., 1817. — Tadorna dameatica Hasselq., 1762, for T. cornuta 

 Gm., 17S8. — Harelda hyemalis L., 1758, for H. glacialis "L,., 1766. — 

 Eniconetta Gray, 1840, for Polvsticfa Eyt., 1836, preocc. by Polysticte 

 Smith, 1835, and ior'' Stellariir"! Bp., 1S3S, preocc. in botany. — Gavia Boie, 

 1822, for Pagophila Kaup. 1829. and the speciesG. alba (Gunn., 1767, for P. 

 eburnea Phipps, 1774. — {Larits hyperboreiis Gnnneras, 1767, ior L. glaiicus 

 Briinn, 1764.) — Hydrochelidon nigra (L., 1758, p. 137) i'ov H. lariformis 

 (Ibid., p. 153). — The short and long-tailed Jagers to be i-espectively Ster- 

 corarius parasiticus (L.. 1758, p. 136). and ^S'. lougicaudatus (V., 1819). — 

 Urinator Cu\'.. 1799, for Colymbus auct.. nee Briss., 1760: U. imnier 

 (Briinn, 1764, p. 38) instead of U. torqiiatus (id., ibid., p. 41) and U. lumme 

 Bninn, 1764, for C. septeiitrioi/alis L.. 1766. — E. C. 



IxGERscjLi.'s Birds'-Xesting.* — This little book is intended for a guide 

 to the beginner, and as such it will no doubt be of service. The book may 

 be summarized as a readable account of the various modes of collecting 

 birds' eggs and nests. There are, however, a few points which we regard 

 with suspicion, as the contrivances for descending cliffs ; such things in 



* Ingersoll, Ernest. Birds'-N'esting : A Handbook of Instruction in Gathering and 

 Preserving the Nests and Eggs of Birds for the Purposes of Study. Salem, 1882. 



