CORRECTIONS OF NOMENCLATURE IN THE GENUS SIURUS. 
BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U. S. A. 
The genus itself, and all three of its species, require names dif- 
ferent from those now generally used. 
1. Name of the Genus. — Originally written Seiukus by Swain- 
son, who invented the term ; also found under the forms Sciurus, 
by ignorance, inadvertence, or typographical blunder, and Siurus, the 
latter being correct. Tho word is compounded of the Greek <m<», 
“ I wave or brandish,” and ovpov, “ tail ” ; it is precisely equivalent 
to the Latin mota-cilla, French hoche-queue, English %vag-tail. 
According to the rule that Greek « becomes long i* in Latin, the 
word should be spelled Siurus, as was first done, I think, in the 
Ibis for 1859, by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin, and A. and E. Newton, 
so nearly simultaneously that I do not know to which of these schol- 
ars we owe the corrected orthography. Seiurus has been objected 
to on account of its identity in sound, though not in orthography, 
etymology, or signification, with Sciurus , “ a squirrel,” by German 
purists, who have proposed to substitute Enicociclila or Henico- 
cichla ; but this is inadmissible : Siurus and Sciurus being as differ- 
ent as thee, objective case of second personal pronoun, and the, 
definite ai'ticle.f (Lat. Sciurus = Gr. o-iaovpot = “shadow-tail.”) 
* So, nlso, Melopclia, Chamcepdia, chrysopciria, etc. (accent tlie penult), in- 
stead of Mclopcleia, Chamaipdeia, chrysopareia, etc. 
t I am not of those rigid constructionists who require preservation of the 
original shape of a name, however faulty. While we cannot of course make 
actual substitution of one name for another without other than philological 
reason, common sense certainly tells us to spell correctly if we can. If we are 
always to preserve the original forms of names, we must, for example, say Scopo- 
lax instead of Scolopax — it so stands in Linn. Syst. Nat. i, 1766, p. 242. 
Bull, N. O.O. 2 , April, 1877 . p. 
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2. Name of the Golden-crowned Tiibush. — Originally and 
usually written cturocoftillus, which should give way to a uricct pillus. 
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