Sept., 1922 OUR ENGLISH NOMENCLATURE 161 
Thus we have given the first race a Latin name but have taken away its Eng- 
lish sub-specific name, leaving only the common name of the species in gen- 
eral. Would it not be far better that the species and its races should appear 
as follows: 
169 Chen hyperboreus 
Snow Goose | 
169z Chen hyperboreus hyperboreus 
Lesser Snow Goose 
169a Chen hyperboreus nivalis 
Greater Snow Goose 
Each species, regardless of its subdivisions or the absence of them, would 
then have its permanent number, as at present, and would be distinctly repre- 
sented by its binomial, apart from all subspecies. The Latin binomial should 
be accompanied by a corresponding English name to designate the species. 
Unmistakable English names for the groups that we call species will become 
even more essential as our evolution specialists discover and give names to 
more and more races. For certain purposes the whole subject of subspecies 
may properly be ignored, and in such circumstances the user of the list of 
birds, especially the user of the abridged list, desires a clear, outstanding 
nomenclature of species, in which all references to subspecies are relegated 
to their proper subordinate place. 
Inasmuch as each species has its permanent number, it is equally import- 
ant that every subspecies shall have a designating letter. As previously point- 
ed out, one of the races of every species is without any designation of this 
kind in the present check-list. This race could be given the letter ‘‘z’’ and 
no changes whatever would be necessary in the numbers and letters now exist- 
ing. If we let it be understood that the first-described race of each species 
will be designated by the last letter of the alphabet, while the subsequently 
discovered races will be represented by the first letters of the alphabet, the 
matter will be clear to every one. 
In order to carry out this plan it is suggested that the abridged check-list, 
as well as the unabridged, be printed in such form that the species will stand 
out distinctly from their subspecies. The natural arrangement is to indent 
the list of subspecies, to form a vertical column farther to the right than the 
column of specific names. Under this scheme the Nuthatches, for example, 
would appear as follows: 
SITTIDAE. Nuthatches. 
727 Sitta carolinensis 
White-breasted Nuthatch 
727z S. c. carolinensis 
(Carolina?) White-breasted Nuthatch 
727a S. c. aculeata 
Slender-billed White-breasted Nuthatch 
727b S. c. atkinsi 
Florida White-breasted Nuthatch 
727¢c S. c. nelsoni 
Rocky-Mountain White-breasted Nuthatch 
727d 8S. c. lagunae 
San Lucas White-breasted Nuthatch 
728 Sitta canadensis 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 
729 Sitta pusilla 
Brown-headed Nuthatch 
