A Bibliography of British Ornithology from the Earliest Times Supplement: A Chronological List of British Birds

Abstract

As a supplement to “A Bibliography of British Ornithology,” by W. H. Mullens and H. Kirke Swann, the latter author has now published “A Chronological List of British Birds,” consisting of references to the earliest authorities for the generic and specific names of British birds. These researches into the literature of the subject bring valuable aid to the systematic ornithologist. One hopes, however, that the immense labour devoted to them has now brought about something approaching finality in the nomenclature of familiar species. Nomenclature is merely a scientific convenience and not an end in itself, and, however desirable adherence to the rules of strict priority may be, it must be admitted that the recent resuscitation of early and still earlier names for well-known birds has been for the moment the reverse of convenient. If greater uniformity results in the future, when the revised names have become more widely accepted and familiar, there will have been a substantial gain: to such an end a work like this is a useful contribution.