Notices of Books. 9343 
bono. In giving two Latin names to each species, as Passer indicus, 
Passer montanus, &c., a rule is adopted which obtains the sanction of 
naturalists throughout the world,—like freemasonry this is a system of 
signs acknowledged throughout the world; but to whom, to what 
nation, to what district will such names as these be acceptable, 
“ Black headed wren warbler,’ “White spotted laughing thrush,” 
“ Black crested yellow bulbul,” “ Rufous necked scimitar babbler,” 
“ Wynaud laughing thrush,” Black gorgetted laughing thrush?” Are 
these names designed for Indian use? Only think of astonishing a 
native by telling him to bring you a “ Rusty throated blue woodchat !” 
Are they for English ornithologists ? if so, I opine they will meet with 
but slender favour, for not only do we dislike such cumbrous appella- 
tions, but we shall have to unlearn our former vocabulary, for this 
woodchat is no woodchat at all, but rather a redstart, for it belongs to 
the family Ruticilline. I wish to say nothing against the theory of 
establishing vernacular names for everything; what should we do 
without them? It is in practice that it must break down; the most 
sanguine advocate of the scheme cannot hope to see it carried out. I 
may be asked, Have we not established such names as “robin,” 
“wren,” “ swallow,” “sparrow,” “crow,” “magpie” and “ starling? ” 
I answer, “ Certainly not! we naturalists have wisely availed ourselves 
of vernacular names long antecedent to the science of Natural History ;” 
but Mr. Jerdon does just the reverse of this : thus he tells us the Erpornis 
xantholeuca has the vernacular name of “ Dangpupho,” but he re- 
christens it “the white bellied flower pecker.” Even in those instances 
in which poets and novelists have conferred a kind of authority on a 
name, our author dissipates the illusion, and dissevers the connexion 
existing between name and object; thus we used to believe that a 
bulbul was a nightingale, but Mr. Jerdon makes a dozen genera of 
bulbuls, among the whole of which I can discover nothing like a night- 
ingale. Mr. Jerdon seems to have entertained the design suggested 
in this country of giving English names to genera as well as species, 
but this is not carried out; for instance, the Latin genera Para- 
doxornis and Heteromorpha are both anglicized “ Finch thrush ;” 
Conostoma and Grammatoptila are both anglicized “Jay thrush ;” 
but still more objectionable appears the plan of introducing the same 
English generic name a second and third time, with other genera inter- 
vening ; as an example, Dumetia is anglicized “ Babbler” at p. 26, 
then follow a host of “ Laughing thrushes,” “ Barwings,” &c., and then 
Acanthoptila and Malacocercus, and again anglicized “ Babbler” at 
