136



On the Sexes of Liothrix lutea.



when the truth comes out nobody blames him, but woe to the man

who describes an unstable living model.


As aviculturists it is our duty to note the habits and the

changes of plumage in living birds, to clear up the inadvertent errors

of our brothers the cabinet-ornithologists ; not to give names to ap¬

parently new forms : I regret that I did not realize this fact sooner.


The worst of it is, that even when an aviculturist has care¬

fully noted the gradual development of a young bird into complete

adult plumage, and has thereby been able to link together two sup¬

posed species without a shadow of doubt, the cabinet worker some¬

times refuses to admit the identity of the two, but obstinately ignores

the published evidence : such treatment tempts the aviculturist to

overstep his legitimate territory and trespass upon that of the

museum-man : yet it is not wise to do so, it is far better to leave the

naming of doubtful and unsound forms to the student of skins, and

expend one’s energies upon the more satisfactory and far safer study

of bird-life: doubtless when the life-histories of birds have been more

intimately studied, many supposed distinct species will prove to be

mere transitional plumages or seasonal phases.


When the startling differences which characterize the summer

and winter forms of many Butterflies were first made known and

proved, probably something approaching one quarter of the recog¬

nized species among forms supposed to be nearly related had to sink

as seasonal phases. When I became convinced of the truth, I

immediately set to work to revise many genera, reducing not a few

of my own species to the rank of wet, intermediate, or dry phases.


. True science always seeks to make known the exact truth,

disregarding such frivolous questions as the sponsorship of species,

which (excepting that one must have names to know things by) is

less than nothing and vanity. When one has learned the correct

names of the different parts of any organism, the multiplication of

descriptions becomes almost a mechanical process. One has to

assure oneself that a species is new, by patient research, and des¬

cribe it ; after that there is little more to be done in that branch of

zoological work, but living nature is always revealing something

fresh.



