2 SHORE BIRDS. 
Sportsmen, as a general rule, are quick, keen and intelli¬ 
gent, but not always literary people, and in the absence of 
scientific terms—some common platform upon which both 
parties could stand—our progress was very slow and unsatis¬ 
factory. We cannot always account for the origin or intro¬ 
duction and retention of such a diversity of common names 
for our feathered friends. It certainly is a great barrier to 
the acquisition of knowledge upon these topics. Names that 
are familiar as household words in one section are entirely 
unknown in another. It is about as perplexing as when two 
persons speaking different languages attempt to carry on a 
conversation. For instance, the first bird we have named 
above was not known in the West where we were located as 
a plover at all, but as a “prairie pigeon.” The turnstone in 
Massachusetts is commonly called “chicken bird,” but else¬ 
where “calico back.” A pectoral sandpiper in our section is 
“jacksnipe,” and in others “krieker,” “grass snipe,” etc. One 
often hears in the West, or even on Long Island, the name 
“Dowitcher,” but that cognomen would not be recognized in 
Massachusetts as referring to red-breasted snipe ( Macror - 
hamphusgriseus, Leach), but if the bird was called “brown 
bacii,” he wou’d be instantly acknowledged. A “redbreast” 
(Tnnga canutus, Linn.) is variously known as “robin snipe,” 
“grayback” and “knot.” The marlin of the West is the mar¬ 
ble godwit (Limosa fedoa, Ord.) of the East, and so on ad in¬ 
finitum. This unhappy state of affairs should no longer 
exist. We have monetary, railroad, religious and other con¬ 
ferences to harmonize conflicting interests or opinions, fix 
values and establish rules of action. Why not have a na¬ 
tional or universal conference to establish a uniform nomen¬ 
clature for our birds ? Possibly the urbane individual who 
occupies the editorial chair of Forest and Stream and ex¬ 
ercises a sort of autocratic influence over the sportsmen of 
this country would undertake to bring about this much I 
needed reform. Whoever shall accomplish this will receive ! 
the gratitude of thousands of sportsmen, and his name would 
go down to posterity as a benefactor to the race. The past 
ten or fifteen years has witnessed a vast improvement in our 
