Coues on the Nomenclature of North American Birds. 97 
second and first ; and that therefore, to be consistent, he must either make 
three genera, or fall back upon Carduelis for all these Goldfinches collect- 
ively. Mr. Allen and other American writers have already used Astra- 
galinus in a full generic sense. 
153. Centrophanes lapponicus ( L .) Kaup. 
154. Centrophanes pictus (Sw.) Cab. 
155. Centrophanes ornatus (Towns.) Cab. 
156. Rhynchophanes maccowni (Later.) Bd. As Baird exhibited 
in 1858, there is a good deal of difference among the birds usually grouped 
with Plectrophanes nivalis , enough to separate them generically in the 
prevailing fashion. Bonaparte, in 1857, had taken maccowni out of the 
entire neighborhood, and placed it near a certain Rhodopechys phcenicoptera, 
as a Loxian of the Montifringilline group (Rev. et Mag. de Zool., IX, 
1857, p. 161). But this maybe going too far. Maccown’s Bunting has 
precisely the habits of C. ornatus, with which it is associated during the 
breeding season in Dakota and Montana. 
Are words ending in -phanes masculine or feminine ? Authors are 
about equally divided. Cabanis, usually careful in this respect, writes 
C. lapponica and C. pictus on the same page. 
1595. Passerculus sandvicensis (Gm.) Coues. This is the earliest 
name I know of for any species of Passerculus , or Savanna Sparrow, and 
must stand for one of them. If savanna of Wilson be judged not specifi- 
cally different, it .should be rated as P. sandvicensis savanna , and so with 
the other geographical races of the Passerculus stock, which it is now 
customary to recognize as varieties of “ savanna , Wils.” 
161. Pocecetes gramineus (Gm) Baird. The orthography of few 
names lias given more trouble. Baird originally wrote Pooccetes. The 
etymology is n oa, grass, and oIktjtt j?, an inhabitant. This would seem to 
give us Pocecetes , as originally emended by Sclater, I think in 1859. 
165. Ammodramus maritimus ( Wils.) Sw. Swainson originally so 
spelled the name of the genus, and repeated the same orthography on 
other occasions. I see no necessity to follow Strickland in altering it to 
Ammodromus. As far as I have dug about the Greek root in this case, the 
alpha is as correct as the omicron, notwithstanding that we always say 
hippodrome and dromedary. The same remark applies to similar com- 
pounds of -dramus or -dromus. 
169. Melospiza fasciata (Gm.) Scott. As Baird hinted in 1858, 
D. W. Scott argued in 1876, and Mr. Rid gw ay has finally adopted. The 
Fasciated Finch of Pennant and Latham, otherwise Fringilla fasciata, 
Gm., is undoubtedly the Song Sparrow. I allude to the species in this 
connection to remark that, though there is a Greek noun melodia, I know 
of no corresponding Latin adjective except melodus, -a, -um; and that 
therefore the i is superfluous. Those who do not accept M. fasciata may 
write M. meloda. 
186. Chondestes grammica (Say) B. The trivial term was origi- 
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