﻿the 
  Generic 
  Terms 
  Certhiola 
  and 
  Coereba. 
  247 
  

  

  But 
  it 
  is 
  obvdous 
  on 
  reference 
  to 
  Vieillot's 
  work 
  that 
  the 
  

   term 
  Coereba 
  was 
  intended 
  as 
  a 
  Latin 
  equivalent 
  for 
  the 
  

   '^Guit-Guit^' 
  of 
  Buffon; 
  and 
  the 
  "Guit-Guit 
  " 
  of 
  Buffon 
  was 
  

   primarily 
  the 
  South-American 
  species 
  usually 
  called 
  Coereba 
  

   cyanea, 
  as 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  by 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  ' 
  Histoire 
  Naturelle 
  ' 
  

   (V. 
  p. 
  529). 
  Buffon 
  called 
  the 
  Sugar-birds 
  of 
  the 
  West 
  

   Indies 
  (^Certhiola) 
  by 
  another 
  name, 
  '^Sucrier''^ 
  {op. 
  cit. 
  

   p. 
  542) 
  . 
  It 
  is 
  therefore 
  quite 
  erroneous 
  to 
  use 
  Coereba 
  for 
  

   the 
  " 
  Sucriers 
  '' 
  instead 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  Guit-Guits.'^ 
  

  

  On 
  reference 
  to 
  Vieillot's 
  ^ 
  Analyse^ 
  (p. 
  46), 
  which, 
  although 
  

   not 
  published 
  until 
  1816, 
  may 
  surely 
  be 
  used 
  to 
  explain 
  

   Vieillot's 
  meaning 
  in 
  his 
  former 
  work, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  observed 
  

   that 
  the 
  type 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  Ccereba 
  [op. 
  cit. 
  p, 
  46) 
  is 
  given 
  as 
  

   the 
  " 
  Guit-Guit 
  '" 
  of 
  Buffon, 
  and 
  that 
  no 
  other 
  species 
  is 
  

   named. 
  I 
  maintain, 
  therefore, 
  that 
  the 
  usage 
  (which 
  I 
  

   followed 
  in 
  the 
  11th 
  volume 
  of 
  the 
  'Catalogue 
  of 
  Birds 
  ^) 
  of 
  

   employing 
  Certhiola 
  for 
  the 
  Sugar-birds 
  of 
  the 
  West 
  Indies 
  

   and 
  Coereba 
  for 
  the 
  " 
  Blue 
  Creepers 
  " 
  of 
  South 
  America 
  is 
  

   absolutely 
  correct, 
  and 
  should 
  be 
  followed. 
  And 
  I 
  trust 
  

   that 
  our 
  friends 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  Ornithologists' 
  Union 
  will 
  

   reconsider 
  their 
  determination 
  to 
  reject 
  the 
  former 
  name 
  for 
  

   Coereba, 
  which, 
  as 
  Mr. 
  Ridgway 
  himself 
  expresses 
  it, 
  has 
  been 
  

   '' 
  quite 
  universally 
  employed 
  " 
  by 
  recent 
  authors 
  for 
  a 
  dif- 
  

   ferent 
  genus. 
  

  

  Such 
  radical 
  changes 
  should 
  be 
  made 
  only 
  on 
  absolutely 
  

   certain 
  grounds, 
  and 
  not 
  when 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  legitimate 
  difl'ereuce 
  

   of 
  opinion 
  on 
  the 
  subject. 
  

  

  To 
  transfer 
  a 
  name 
  " 
  quite 
  universally 
  employed 
  " 
  from 
  one 
  

   generic 
  type 
  to 
  another 
  renders 
  it 
  absolutely 
  useless 
  as 
  a 
  

   designation 
  for 
  the 
  latter. 
  

  

  Even 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  canons 
  of 
  nomenclature 
  adopted 
  by 
  

   the 
  A. 
  O. 
  U. 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  argued 
  that 
  Ccereba 
  of 
  Vieillot 
  in- 
  

   cludes 
  both 
  the 
  " 
  Guit-Guits 
  " 
  and 
  the 
  " 
  Sucriers," 
  and 
  that 
  

   Sundevall 
  (K. 
  Vet.-Ak. 
  Handl. 
  1835, 
  p. 
  99) 
  had 
  a 
  perfect 
  

   right 
  to 
  restrict 
  that 
  term 
  to 
  the 
  "Guit-Guits" 
  and 
  give 
  a 
  

   new 
  appellation 
  [Certhiola^ 
  to 
  the 
  "^ 
  Sucriers." 
  

  

  s2 
  

  

  