64 On " The Bengalee"


these notes : and as far as the " English" name is concerned I

trust it will remain so, and that our dainty Crimson-eared friend

will retain his appropriate name of " Cordon - bleu." If it is

necessary in the case of " scientific names" to bow to the

" priority-at-all-costs " fetish, there is fortunately no need to do

so in the case of vernacular names.


3rd. SUGGESTED NAMES FOR THIS BIRD.

Most aviculturalists, more especially those that have to

carry on animal-business in several different modern languages,

will agree that a Latin or Latinized name is essential, not only

for every species of wild animal, but also for every well marked

variety or race, wild or domesticated ; some years back, when

first dealing with the " Bengalee" of these notes, I could find no

Latin name applicable, — Dr. Butler's Aidemosyne malabarica x

Uroloncha striata was not only cumbrous but implied a derivation

not generally believed in, I therefore in 1903 coined the name

Munia domeslica.


As regards the first part of this name, the genus Munia

•(1836) in its wider sense may be taken to include the other two

o-enera to which this bird has been assigned, U?vlo?icka (1850)

and Aidemosyne (1861) : the application of domestica seems


obvious.


Therefore until we can ascertain for certain the origin of

this bird, I propose for convenience that it should be called :


The Bengalee, Miinia domestica ;

and the three varieties, as shown in Mr. Frohawk's plate in Dr.

Butler's book mentioned above, may be called :

Brown-and-White Bengalee,


Munia domestica griseomaculata (Russ) ;

Fawn-and- White Bengalee,


Munia domestica flavomaculata (Russ) ;

White Bengalee, Munia domestica alba (Russ).



