78 A EOUGH TENTATIVE LIST OF THE BIRDS OF INDIA. 



Some one looking over my list wishes to know whj melano- 

 pogo7i, Chelidon, Treron^ Mmlon^ Corydon, Delichon, ^c, are 

 exempted, forgetting that vdaycov, ^^Xldcuv, TpYjpwv, a»o-«X«;v, 

 xopuSwv, do not end in ov and that DelicJion is one of those 

 objectionable anagrammatic words like Dacelo, &c., which belong 

 to no language, and can be dealt with by no rule. 



Delichon is not, I believe, a Greek word, only a kaleidoscopic 

 re-arrangement of the letters of Chelidon. 



Although I have not altered Linusean specific names, com- 

 mencing with a capital to secure agreement in gender, I have 

 not hesitated to do this to secure uniformity of transliteration. 

 Thus Clangula glaucion, the latter word being clearly derived 

 from yXccvxiov, a certain grey-e} ed water bird, I have rendered 

 in accordance with rule C. glaucium — similarly I have altered 

 chri/saetos to chrysaetus, %c. 



Another rule, the substitution of u for the Greek ov, is 

 equally disregarded. You as oiien ^nA. macroura 2l& macrura ; 

 Linne uses both. forms of transliteration impartially, and gives 

 us macrourus and Phmiicurus, but as the former ishis own 

 name, while the latter is one beginning with a capital and not 

 agreeing in gender with the generic name, and hence not al- 

 tered by him, but appropriated from elsewhere in its integrity, 

 we may presume that he personally gave the preference to the 

 former. 



Usually the generic name is spelt as DicruruSf but a purist 

 like Cabanis, w^ho alters everybody's names unhesitatingly, 

 changes Vieillot's Dicrurus into Dicrourus, and in this Sunde- 

 vall follows him, while he accepts Lesson's stipiiurus, (which 

 should be stipturus at any rate) and so on. 



Everywhere it is the same thing ; want of uniformity. 

 Now these diversities ai'e a stumbling block to neophytes, and 

 should be got rid of. There is only one word oupu a tail, and 

 it should always be rendered the same way. We, English, at any 

 rate, have a fixed rule on the subject, and by that we ought, I 

 think, to be guided, and therefore throughout my list I have 

 spelt this set of compounds in one uniform way, viz., with the 

 *' m" and not with the " om." 



Pompadoura I take to be derived from the name Pompadour, 

 and not to be a compound. 



Where simple words are manifestly mis-spelt, I have cor- 

 rected them, for instance I have spelt Cypsellus, with two Vs, 

 this being correct. Again Ithaginis can be nothing but I6uysvt]5 

 " noble," " genuine,^' and I have accordingly spelt it Ithagenes-^ 

 while JEsacus can only be derived from uKraxos (inappropriate 

 as the term is), and I have therefore spelt it yE'saci^s ; but. I 

 have not as a rule dreamt of correcting g'waai-irregular com- 



