498 NOTES. 



surface from tlie lower tliroat to tbe abdomen, and has the 

 lores and refrion of the eye finely vermiculated or lined with 

 black and white, like the rest of the face, whereas the Malayan 

 birds have a uniform fulvous space in front of the eye. 



"Professor Sundevall, in "his Conspectum Avium Pieinarum" 

 (p. 92), thought that the differences might be due to age ; but 

 he was acquainted with the true M. tristis from Java, a 

 specimen of which he saw in the Berlin Museum, and he was 

 evidently inclined to consider it a distinct bird. I think there 

 can be no doubt on the subject from a comparison of specimens ; 

 and that the Malaccan and Bornean birds must be separated as 

 M, grammithorax, Malherbe/' 



In the July Ihis of the present year M. Seebohm, in 

 discussing the genus Sylvia (p. 315), refers to S, minula, 

 Hume, Stray Feathers I, 198. The Editor remarks that 

 this is probably a mis-print for minuta, but the fact is that 

 it is a misprint for minuscula, a name given correctly in my 

 list of the " Birds of India," to the typographical correction of 

 which I gave much attention, but which the printer had always 

 previously carefully altered to minula. In the first slip-proof 

 of Volume I, the name stands correctly as minuscula. 



Mr. H. T. Wharton, in the October number of the Ibis,]\\%t 

 received, gives an interesting paper on the orthography of 

 some birds' names, from which I take the liberty of quoting 

 certain passages which interest us. It is a great pity that 

 some one, possessed of the time and the scholarship, does not 

 similarly discuss the host of doubtful names with which orni- 

 thology is encumbered. Mr. Wharton says : — 



"In 1822, F. Boie [his, p. 550) proposed Cotile as a generic 

 name for Hirundo riparia, L., but, unfortunately in 1826 (Isis, 

 p. 971) he spelt the genus Cotyle ; although in the same 

 column we find " Cynnyris" and " ^gythalus,'' it is only the 

 the first misprint that has bred lasting mischief. Of course 

 Gloger (Naturg. der Vogel Europa's, 1834, p. 411) knew and 

 accepted the right spelling, and so did G. R. Gray (Hand-list, 

 1869, L, p. 73). But the learned Prince BonaJDarte (Oonsp. 

 Gen. Av. 1850, I., page 341) indorsed Cotyle, and thus gave 

 colour to the wild guess of Agassiz (Nomencl. Zool.) that the 

 name came from xotuAtj a cup. It is sad to see Dr. Cones 

 (" Birds of the Colorado Valley," 1878, p. 370) being thus 

 misled into suggesting an analogy between a cup, such as so 

 mauy other birds' nests form^ and the deep cylindrical hole in 



