124 THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD [Vol. III. 



preserved. As a matter of fact the genus Oedemia, as main- 

 tained by authorities who professed to accept only structural 

 characters for separation, was purely a colorgenus. A peculiar 

 complication is that the Surf Scoter, which shows very marked 

 structural differences in bill formation, was lumped, on 

 account of its coloration. Had it been differently coloured 

 it would have been accepted as distinct, without argument, 

 like Histrionicus. 



Remiz. 



In his 1908 List Richmond recorded this genus name 

 as being introduced by Dzieduszycki in 1880, which was 

 earlier than Remiza of Stejneger, 1887, quoted in the 1902 

 List. We here record a still earlier proposal of Remiz, viz. 

 by Taczanowski, in the Oologia Ptakow Polskich, p. 229, 

 1862, for the same species, pendulinus. Remiz appears first 

 to occur in the Oken List of names in the Isis, 1817, col. 1184, 

 whence it does not appear to be recorded. We have not yet 

 seen any rescission of the American Ornithologists' Union's 

 inexcusable acceptance of some names from this List, and 

 we regret the delay, as the early admission of a blunder 

 goes a long way to rectify the error, and tends towards the 

 stability in nomenclature which systematists desire. Pro- 

 crastination has been the curse of systematics as regards 

 British ornithologists, and we had not anticipted the same 

 vice in American ones. 



Hypsipetes. 



This name, proposed by Vigors in the Proc. Comm. Zool. 

 Soc. (Lond.), pt. iv, April, 1831, p. 43, for the species 

 psaroides, is invalidated by Ypsipetes Stephens, Syst. Cat. 

 Brit. Insects, Vol. II., p. 138, 1829. The aspirate here is of 

 no differential value, the names being absolutely the same. 

 In the B.O.U. List, p. 182, is admitted Heniconetta, though 

 Gray wrote Eniconetta. 



We therefore propose the new genus name Haringtonia, 

 in memory of our friend, the late Lt.-Col. H. H. Harington, 



