74 THE ORNITHOLOGICAL GUIDE. 



euphony. Cateractes is, I think, not near so expres- 

 sive a name as applied to the Skuas as Lestris, and 

 therefore I have adopted the latter. I had nearly 

 omitted one kind of specific names, and it is so very 

 obviously bad, that it is scarce worth mentioning : — 

 giving the appellation ferns and '" wild." Thus we 

 have the Wild Swan (Cygnus ferus,) the Tame 

 Swan {Cygnus olor,) the Wild Goose (Anser ferus, J 

 the Wild Duck (Anas boschas, &c. How much 

 better it would be to call these birds Whistling Swan 

 (Cygnus refus*) Mute Swan (Cygnus olor,) Gray- 

 leg Goose (Anser segetum,) (the A. palustris is also 

 sometimes called Anser ferus :) the Ring Duck 

 [Anas boschas,) &;c. If the tame birds are intended 

 to be spoken of in Ornithological works, write, the 

 " domesticated Whistling Swan," the " tame Grayleg 

 Goose," the " wild Ring Duck," &c. Domestication 

 does not alter the species, therefore the specific name 

 should not be made dependent on that circumstance. 

 With regard to the names of Families, I have 

 often given more than one name to each Family. 

 The reason of this is as follows. The names of the 

 Families in Ornithology are made by adding d(B to 

 the name of the typical genus; that is, the genus 

 which exhibits, united in itself, the greatest number 



* Bechstein, when speaking of this species, says : — " Instead o* 

 the common name, tame Swan, I prefer that of Mute Swan, in order to 

 distinguish this from the Whistling Swan, also called the Wild Swan, 

 but improperly, for in Russia it is more common to have that tamed 

 than the one under notice." 



