WM. G. PRAEGER. 147 



eliminate such names from the books. All I protest against 

 is pedantry on the one hand, and indifference on the other. 

 The book-names have good reasons for being, and often 

 mean a great deal. There is no bird at all like the American 

 White-fronted Goose in this country, and therefore the long 

 descriptive name is quite unnecessary for common use ; 

 " White-fronted " was given by European naturalists to 

 distinguish Anser albifrons from several other geese of the 

 same genus found in Europe, and then " American " was 

 added to distinguish the variety found in this country. The 

 Ring-necked Duck (the Blackjack of the duck-hunters) was 

 first described from a specimen found in Leadenhall Market, 

 in London, in 1801 (Donovan, British Birds, VI. 1809, pi. 

 147),* the only one of the kind I believe that has ever 

 occurred in Europe ; it was not at the time known what part 

 of the world the stranger had come from ; the rather incon- 

 spicuous chestnut collar served to distinguish it from the 

 Tufted Duck of Europe, which it closely resembles, and 

 hence gave it both its specific name — collaris, and its 

 vernacular name — Ring-necked. 



In vernacular names there is no harm in synonyms, and it 

 is only by acknowledging them, and by using them, that 

 we shall ever get a good popular nomenclature. Indeed 

 there is something encouraging in a bird being known by 

 several names, as it is the more famihar birds that have 

 most names, and therefore, as birds become better known 

 to the people, popular synonyms are likely to increase. 



Local names do no great harm, and are often pretty and 

 interesting; but by this I do not mean names locally misap- 

 plied, as these are one of the greatest evils we have to contend 



* Mr. Praeger is correct in citing this case as that of the first published 

 description, but he will be interested to learn that before Donovan's 

 specimen had been named and figured, the species was discovered 

 by Captains Lewis and Clark, at Deer Island, on the Columbia River, 

 in Oregon, March 28th, 1806; under which date the explorers give an 

 excellent description in their original manuscripts : see my edition of 

 Lewis and Clark, 1893, p. 888.— E. C. 



