No. 5.] THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD 123 



One of the peculiar idiosyncrasies of British systematic 

 ornithologists is the continued recognition of the Spotted 

 and Pied Flycatchers as congeneric, when the merest glance 

 proves the contrary, and all serious students of ornithology 

 deny their close relationship. 



For the latter Ficedula Brisson (Orn., III., 1760, p. 369) 

 is available and should be used, while Arizeloynyia Oberholser 

 should be accepted for Muscicapa latirostris Raffles, and still 

 another genus name, probably Siphia, for Muscicapa parva 

 Bechstein, of which the earliest reference is " Getreue Abbild., 

 Heft 2, p. 26, pi. [17], fig. 2, 1793." The species called 

 Muscicapa collaris in the List would be placed in Ficedula 

 as Ficedula albicollis, the species name collaris Bechstein. 

 1793, being preoccupied by Latham, 1790. 



Heniconetta. 



This name, spelt Eniconetta, was proposed by Gray as a 

 new name for Polysticta Eyton and Stelleria Bonaparte 

 preoccupied. The word that was considered as invalidating 

 the former was spelt Polisticte, and curiously enough this 

 was not accepted as equivalent in the Amer. Ornith. Check- 

 List, 3rd ed., 1910, p. 78, though it would seem to be accord- 

 ing to their Laws. However, if Polysticta be rejected, there 

 seems to be no valid reason for the rejection of Stelleria, as 

 Gray's reason, the usage of a similar name in Botany, is not 

 now applicable. 



Melanitta. 



This name was ignored by the makers of the B.O.U. List, 

 though a footnote in the Handlist of British Birds, initialled 

 E. H., had drawn attention to it. A most extraordinary 

 conclusion was there propounded, viz. that a name of 

 uncertain date should be preferred to one of certain date, 

 and this was apparently accepted in the B.O.U. List. 



The recent elaboration of the species by Miller (Auk, 1916. 

 p. 278) has shown two valid genera to have been confused, and 

 that the generic names Melanitta and Oidemia can both be 



