on Mr. G. U. Gray's < Genera of Birds: 419 



a synonym of Melithreptus, Vieill. The latter term (restricted) 

 should be retained for this group, as is done by Cuvier, Lesson, 

 Swainson, and Vieillot himself, who figures M. vestiarius as the 

 type in his ' Galerie des Oiseaux.' 



Ptiloturus, Sw., should be written Ptilurus (from tttlXov and ovpa). 

 Merops, L., may be added to its synonyms. 



P. 13. The earliest specific name of Eulampis aurata, Boie, seems 

 to be jugularis, Lin. 



The specific name Calothorax lucifer (Sw.) is prior to C. cyano- 

 pogon, Less., being first published in 1827. 



P. 14. Phcethornis should be written Pha'ethornis. 



The genus Cynanthas was founded by Swainson in 1827 (Zool. 

 Journ. vol. iii. p. 357) ; and as one of his characters is " Cauda lon- 

 gissima, forficata," the name (restricted) should be adopted in place 

 of Lesbia, Less. 



Heliothrys should be written Heliothrix (from rjXws and 0p<£)- 



The name Mellisuga, Briss., must be regarded as synonymous 

 with Trochilus, Lin., and should therefore be cancelled, and the 

 name Calliphlow, Boie, adopted. 



Mr. Gray gives a new name, Meliornis, to the genus Meliphaga, 

 Lewin, as restricted by Vigors, because he conceives that this is not 

 the type of the original genus Meliphaga as defined by Lewin. Now 

 although an author, in restricting an existing genus, ought always 

 to retain the original name for that part of the old genus which was 

 considered as typical by its author, yet where this rule has been de- 

 parted from I do not think we are bound to remove the name so re- 

 stricted, and attach it to another part of the group, which, though 

 more typical, has never borne it exclusively. Such transposition of 

 names produces sad confusion. In the case before us, Mr. Vigors in 

 1826 carefully restricted and defined the genus Meliphaga of Lewin, 

 including in it several of Levvin's species, and this arrangement has 

 been followed by Lesson, Swainson, Gould, &c. The priority of the 

 restricted genus rests with the lamented Mr. Vigors, and it should 

 therefore retain the name which he gave to it. 



Prosthemadera cincinnata, Lath., was named Merops nova seelan- 

 dia (not novae hollandiae) by Gmelin ; and that name is therefore 

 prior to cincinnata. 



For Philemon, Vieill., read Philedon, Comm. (from $i\ew and 

 ■qlovrj). Cuvier adopted Commerson's name, but Vieillot (probably 

 ignorant of its derivation) changed it into the unmeaning term Phi- 

 lemon. 



I very much doubt whether Phyllornis (Chloropsis, Jard.) pos- 

 sesses a feathered tongue like the Meliphagidm. Its general struc- 

 ture points much more to the short-legged Turdidce, where Mr. 

 Swainson places it. 



For Zanthomyza write Xanthomyza (from £,avdbs and /xv£aw). 



P. 16. For Plectoramphus write Plectorhamphus. (Naturalists 

 seem too often to forget that the initial p in Greek being aspirated, 

 all words of Greek derivation which commence with r must be fol- 

 lowed by h, which they retain in composition.) 



2e 2 



