58 Protection of Wild Life in Yorkshire. 
object of this vandalism was the hope of by chance securing 
a specimen of the so-called Willow Tit. 
A number of present day leading ornithologists, as they 
consider themselves, have had the colossal impudence to take 
upon themselves, unasked, the revision of the nomenclature 
of British birds and have, after considerable labour, thrust 
upon the public an undesired list.* In doing this they have 
placed the old order of things at sixes and sevens and have 
constructed a number of unnecessary sub-species. I may point 
out that the inventive :genius of these revisions is of such 
an order, that the only scientific name they can invent for. 
our poor little Jenny Wren, formerly known as Tvoglodytes 
vulgaris is Troglodytes, troglodytes, troglodytes, and other species. 
are named in a similar manner. What a perfectly ridiculous 
example of misplaced energy ! 
I do not wish to dwell upon this, but to point out one un- 
fortunate result of their labours. Formerly their disciples were 
content to have type skins of certain species ; now numbers 
of individuals of these particular species must be shot, in the 
hope of securing now and then one of the sub-species. Ringing 
birds, a practice which has assumed large proportions, is 
responsible for a good deal of destruction and suffering. Birds 
are shot to obtain the rings, and I have seen birds, Lapwings 
and others, that through an accumulation of clay or mud on 
the rings, have caused sores and.festers to form upon the leg 
until it has cankered and at length dropped off. + 
We may congratulate ourselves upon the fact that mainly 
through the exertions of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, 
this county will never allow the indiscriminate slaughter 
which goes on regularly in season and out of season, on the 
coasts of Kent and Sussex. Records are published almost 
monthly in that receptacle of obituary notices of rare visitors, 
British Birds, showing that a most careful watch is kept on 
all parts of there coasts where migrants or casual visitors are 
likely to land, and no matter what time of the year they arnive, 
they are promptly shot and proudly exhibited “ in the flesh ’ by 
the perpetrator of the vandalism or his hireling. It is a 
standing disgrace and reproach to the authorities in these 
counties, and one can only hope that they will before long 
put an end to this abominable state of affairs. The Royal 
Society for the Protection of Birds, have I think, neglected 
their duties in that part of the world. 
If it were not for the birds our farms and gardens would be 

* Since the issue of this List, an authorised one, by the B,O.U., has been 
published, which is much more acceptable to the general run of ornitholc- 
gists.—R.F. 
+ Since this address was delivered, I have had a number of communica- 
tions confirming this statement. sR 
Naturalist, 
