172 
LEACH, Naming Australian Birds [ Th j a n mu 
OTHER EARLY AUTHORS. 
Brisson, a great ornithologist, published, in 1760, the six quarto 
volumes of Urnithologia. As he did not always name species by 
one word, he was not a “binomial author”; as he gave good 
generic descriptions, and indicated species clearly, he was a 
“binary author.” The International Commission accepted Bris- 
son’s generic, but not his specific, names. Fifteen of our generic 
names are from Brisson. One name is interesting. Brisson 
placed all the known species (97) of Cockatoos and Parrots in 
the genus Psittacus. Some species were named by more than 
one and some, including Cacatua, by one word. For years writers 
credited the generic name Cacatua to Brisson. His generic name 
was Psittacus, and his specific name Cacatua. Fortunately, 
Cuvier (1800) used Kakatoe, the French equivalent of the Latin 
Cacatua, as a generic name. It resembles in form and pronuncia¬ 
tion the invalid generic name Cacatua. 
Forster with 6 valid names, and Lacepede with 5, receive little 
space, as their names were not for exclusively Australian birds. 
EARLIEST VALID NAMES FOR AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 
A century and a half ago great activity prevailed in all fields 
of human interests. The Spice Islands (Moluccas) were the 
wonder region of the world. Adventurous voyagers sought the 
mysterious Terra Australis. Expeditions were often accom¬ 
panied by naturalists, who eagerly described the wonders of new 
lands. Captain Cook in 1770 explored Australia's eastern coast. 
He landed at few places, and missed even the common Laughing 
Kookaburra. Though accompanied by qualified naturalists (Dr. 
Solander, Sir Joseph Banks, and others) little was published 
about the remarkable fauna and flora of the world’s present 
wonderland—the “fossil continent,” Australia. 
Two years later, Captain Cook visited Adventure Bay — the 
site of the 1923 R.A.O.U. camp-out in Tasmania. The Narrative 
of the Expedition, by Surgeon Ellis, contains the first published 
name of a strictly Australian bird — the superb Blue Wren— 
named Motacilla cyanea by Ellis, who was not a binomial or a 
binary author, but a painter. The name cyaneus is credited 
to Latham (1783), who named birds binomially. Much material 
collected by Captain Cook was never published. Forster’s names 
date from publication in 1844. 
Meanwhile other travellers visited islands north of Australia. 
Sonnerat made his famous voyage in 1772 and published plates 
of several birds that reach Australia, and one exclusively Aus¬ 
tralian bird. He did not use binomial names, and three authors 
proposed a name for the Laughing Kookaburra — the second Aus¬ 
tralian bird to receive a valid name. Boddaert (1783) gave 
Alcedo gigas; Hermann (1783), A. nova-guinea; and Scopoli 
(1786), A. undulatus. For many years, Boddaert’s appropriate 
