Burns—On BrOAD-WINGED HAWK. 161 
in confusion. In 1824 Bonaparte proposed F. Wilsonm (in 
honor of Alexander Wilson), but immediately announced in 
a footnote that Ord, who was Wilson’s editor and immediate 
successor, had informed him of his intention to substitute 
F. latissimus (broadest) for F. pennusylvanicus in the 1824 
reprint of Wilson’s American Ornithology; and which was 
done accordingly.- Bonaparte did not formally withdraw his 
own appellation, but merely added that Ord’s name must be 
adopted, if not pre-occupied. Indeed, Ord had already made 
use of this name in a list appearing in Guthries’ Geography, 
1815, but unfortunately neglected to add description or re- 
fer to Wilson’s figure or description. In the 1828 edition of 
Wilson, Ord is made the authcrity for the statement that he 
was responsible for the change in the reprint, and the declar- 
ation that should F. pennsylvanicus Slate-colored Hawk and 
F. velox Sharp-shinned Hawk prove to be the same species, 
the former name should be retained for the Broad-winged 
Hawk and F. velox for the Slate-colored or Sharp-shinned 
Hawk. In 1829, Griffith and Pidgeon, and in 1840, Brewer, 
quoted /. latissimus Ord; demonstrating the fact that no 
confusicn existed at the time over the authority of the name. 
Audubon found the Slate-colored and Sharp-shinned Hawks 
identical, immature and adult in differeyt plumages; and 
velox being the first named as well as the adult, that name 
was retained; and pennsylvanicus now a synonym, fell in dis- 
use in this instance, but was revived and came into general 
use for the Broad-winged Hawk. However, trusting to the 
failing memory of the aged Ord, Cassin in 1854 stated that 
Wilson himself had corrected the name to Jatissimus in the 
later copies of the original edition. The very existence of 
the reprint of 1824, which retained the original date, was 
forgotten; and when Sharp revived Buteo latissimus in 1874 
in accordance with Cassin’s erroneous conclusions, the editors 
of the /bis protested against the change, based as it was upon 
sirained application of the laws of priority, after remaining 
practically unchallenged for over sixty years; yet the law 
“cence a synonym always a synonym” relegated pennsylvan- 
