Vol. XIV 
“Ep Covues, The Turkey Question. 273 
which is incontestibly descended from the Mexican bird, mainly 
if not entirely. This is the view taken by most writers, as 
by Baird in 1858, 1866, and 1874, and endorsed by such high 
authority as Newton in the following terms (Zool. Rec. V, 1868, 
p. 102): “It seems to us that the name ga//opavo must be retained 
for the tame race, and consequently for the species whence it has 
sprung, having been applied by Linnzus to the form domesticated 
in Sweden.” 
This is quite true; but I am willing to recede from the extreme 
of my position to the length of conceding that there may have 
been and doubtless were European importations of the United 
States bird as well as of the Mexican, and that thus both forms 
may have been actually concerned in the production of the 
domestic races. This does not alter the nomenclatural aspects 
of the case one iota; it simply makes the Linnean JZ. gallopavo 
a composite, to be dealt with by our ordinary rule for such cases ; 
which is, that the original name of a composite shall be retained 
for what is left of the compound after a new available name has 
been bestowed upon any one of its components. I do not doubt 
that JZ gallopavo of Linneus 1758 or 1766, covered all the 
Turkeys that author ever saw or heard of; and in that case, what 
was the first tenable name given to distinguish two or more forms, 
and to which form was such name applied? 
Clearly, the United States bird was distinguished from the 
Linnean gallopavo by several names, of different authors, long 
before Gould named the Linnzan residuum mexicana. 
1. The first of these is Ze Dindon sauvage, Gallo-pavo sylvestris, 
Briss., Orn. I, 1760, p. 162, based exclusively on the New England 
Wild Turkey, Gallopavo sylvestris Nove Anglie of Ray, Syn. 1713, 
p- 51, No. 3. But Brisson was not a binomialist, and his name is 
unavailable, though it had been already used by Catesby, and was 
afterward brought up by Le Conte. 
2. Probably the next names for the United States bird are JZ. 
americana and M. occidentalis of BARTRAM, Trav. 1791, p. 290 
and p. 83. But Bartram, they say, was no binomialist, and I pass 
him by in this connection; though my most ardent opponent in 
Bartram’s case, my friend Dr. Allen, has used occidentalis for the 
New England bird (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 1876, p. 55), not- 
35 
