MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 819 s 



Oreocincla dixoni. — The Long-tailed Mountain-Thrush. 



This bird was only observed on one occasion when it was shot over its nest,. 

 The nest contained three fresh eggs, and was placed about four feet up in 

 tangle willows broken down by the snow, a very favourite situation for all the. 

 thrushes there. The eggs measured l - 16x'P9 of an inch and were green, 

 thickly marked all over, though mostly at the larger end, with two shades of 

 reddish brown ; they showed none of the fine mottling of the eggs of 0. dauma^ 



S. L. WHYMPER. 

 Jeolikote, \6t7i August 1906. 



No. XII.— FIRST HINTS ON COLLECTING BUTTERFLIES. 



I should like to make a few remarks on Mr. Young's paper on " First hint 

 on Collecting Butterflies," which appeared in a recent number of the Journal 

 (p. 114, of this Vol.). I am pleased to see that some remonstrance has already 

 been made regarding the changes of nomenclature which Mr. Young is endea- 

 vouring to introduce into our Indian butterfly fauna ; I trust without success. 

 I confess I do not understand Mr. Young's reply to his critics given in the- 

 third paragraph of his article. He states that his " articles are not intended 

 for people who have been collecting butterflies for thirty years, but for begin- 

 ners only," and then he promptly uses a nomenclature which a beginner 

 will find lands him in hopeless confusion when he studies the works of 

 the older entomologists. Mr. Young further states in the same paragraph, 

 " All I endeavour to do is to give a nomenclature which is not likely to be 

 upset in our time." One naturally asks why upset the present nomenclature 

 which has lasted some very considerable time and fulfils its purpose- 

 Doubtless the answer will be that the law of priority must be obeyed ; and 

 this opens up a very large question. I suppose the English butterflies have 

 been studied for a hundred and fifty years, yet incredible as it may seem the 

 nomenclature of these sixty odd butterflies is not yet settled. Scarcely a year 

 passes without one or other of these unfortunate insects undergoing a change 

 of name. In such a small number this, though exasperating, is not fatally 

 confusing, but if the same interference with the names of Indian butterflies, num- 

 bering some hundreds of species, is permitted we shall end in an entomological 

 Babel. The object of strict adherence to the law of priority is to fix the 

 nomenclature; this, so far as the English butterflies are concerned, it has signally 

 failed to do, and it is a question to my mind whether a law so painfully ineffect- 

 tive should not in some way be strengthened. It has failed for two main reasons,, 

 first the confidence with which each investigator in this line of research inter- 

 prets the vague descriptions and inaccurate drawings of old authors, and second- 

 ly. the ill-considered zeal with which these same gentlemen change the name of 

 an insect before definitely proving that their proposed change is due to their 

 having traced the insect to its veritable first description. Mr. Young states 

 that his own labours being the latest modern research will fix our Indian 

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