The Oologist, 1574- A Warm Place for a Nest. Bj M[aui-ice] G. K[ains]. /^z'rf., Ank.VlI. Jan, 

 p. 25.— Wrens nesting in lamp-posts. 1890. p".VJ. 



The Oologist. 1598- An Odd Nesting Place. By W. J. S[impson]. Ibid., p. 40. 



—House Wrens nesting in a vane. Ank, Vll. Jan. 1890.P. W. 



459. Value of the House Wren as an Insect Destroyer. Bj Cliarles tS. 



._ _ Aidrich. /i/rf.', XV, pp. 318, 319, Asaer. NataPaUsst« ^ 



mi. 1 ^^02. House Wren. By C[arIeton] G[ilbert]. /iz';/., pp. 74-7C.— Egg- 



The Oologist. Jan. ^890. P. VV. > PP 74 75 gg 



Young OolOfifiat. 1562. Wrens on the War Path. By H. K. Landis. Ibid., p. 3i.Atlk,V] I. ian.^' ^' ^ 



Hylemathrous vs. Troglodytes for the House Wren.— In ' The Birds of 

 Massachusetts ' (p. 92) Mr. G. M. Allen and I used Hylemathrous for the 

 generic name of the House Wren for reasons then in our estimation out 

 of place to explain. In its adoption, however, we followed the accepted 

 methods of scientific nomenclature. 



Vieillot was first to separate Wrens from Warblers when he in 1S07 

 (Hist. Naturelle des Oiseaux, p. 52) restricted the name Troglodytes to 

 the true Wrens, including the European Wren {Troglodytes farvulus) as 

 well as our American species a'edon, which is the only one he deals with 

 in full, for the reason he was writing only on North American birds. He 

 specified no type, and if he had not stated the inclusion of the European 

 bird the mere fact that he took the specific name of the European species 

 for his generic term would imply that he included it. In 1816 in his 

 'Analyse' (p. 45) he restricted Thriothorus, and made the type arundina- 

 ceus. Rennie in 1831 (Montagu's Diet. British Birds, 2nd. ed., p. 570), 

 considering Troglodytes, a word meaning a cave dweller, not applicable 

 for the Wrens called them Anorthura. This simple name substitution to 

 suit Rennie' s taste of course does not affect the type, and he made no 

 restrictions whatever. We have then next to go to Prince Maximilian 

 (Beitr. Naturg. Bras., Ill, 1830, p. 742), who suggested Hylemathrous for a 

 South American species, T. furvus, our House Wren a'edon, and also 

 included in his separation Thryothorus arunditiaceus of Vieillot, which he 

 considered = to Cistothorus falustris, and not as now understood, T. 

 ludoviciana. This name Hylemathrous was also in i860 accepted and 

 restricted by Cabanis (Jour, fiir Ornith., VIII, p. 406, 407). 



Hylemathrous then being used for the House Wren leaves Troglodytes 

 by elimination for the European Wren and our Winter Wren, which is 

 congeneric with the European species. 



Prof. Newton in his 'Dictionary' (p. 1051) in discussing this case says: 

 " A few, who ignore not only common sense but also the accepted rules 

 of scientific nomenclature, by a mistaken view of Vieillot's intention in 

 establishing the genus Troglodytes, reserve that term for some American 

 species — which can hardly be generically separated from the European 

 form, — and have attempted to fix on the latter the generic titxm Anorthtira, 

 which is its strict equivalent, and was proposed by Rennie on grounds that 

 are inadmissible." — Reginald Heber Howe, Jr., Long-wood, Mass. 



Auk, XIX, Jan., 1902. pp. 'i^' 



