Museum Geological Survey,
Ottawa, Ont., Dec. 27, 1918.
[While there are some points in favor of Mr. Taverner’s plan, which by the way he has put into practice in his article on ‘The Birds of the Red Deer River’ in this and the preceding numbers of ‘The Auk,’ there are others which count against it.
First of all we must realize that the practice of duplicating the specific name when referring to the earliest subspecies of a group—i. e. Melospiza melodia melodia—is by no means universally adopted, and in very many recent papers and all of those of earlier date the binomial Melospiza melodia is used for the first described race and trinomials for the others. Now Mr. Taverner would use this binomial for some one race (seen but not positively determined) of M. melodia. In the A. O. U. ‘Check-List’ the same binomial is used to indicate the whole group of subspecies of Song Sparrows collectively. Hence we have three different concepts which we try to denote by one expression. In an index these are hopelessly confused and we are likely to miss valuable information about some form that we are investigating because it is masquerading under some specific name where we would never think of looking for it.
Now as we have in current use a form of name to indicate just what Mr. Taverner has in mind, why not stick to it—i. e. Melospiza melodia subsp.? This would avoid all ambiguity. As his practice stands I find it is quite misunderstood, as all of those of whom I inquired, and who had not read Mr. Taverner’s published views on the subject, thought that he was simply following Mr. Leverett M. Loomis in abandoning subspecies entirely.
Another difficulty presents itself when we try to follow out Mr. Taverner’s plan in the matter of closely related species. There are many species that so closely resemble one another that differentiation would be impossible in the field should they happen to occur together. Now Mr. Taverner in his efforts to avoid every possible mistake refuses to designate the subspecies of the American Magpie because there are European races of the bird which would be indistinguishable from it should they happen to occur here. At the same time he does not hesitate to name the Titlark, Anthus rubescens, although he would find it equally difficult to distinguish it from the European A. spinoletta—of which indeed Dr. Oberholser considers it a subspecies. So with the Bittern, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, etc., etc., which closely resemble species in other parts of the world. Now if it is permissible to “guess” at these species why not guess the subspecies also, where we are reasonably certain of them, and use the form I have indicated above in cases where we are on the borderland between races or where winter flocks may contain more than one subspecies?
If we should collect several specimens of a bird that was widely distributed over the region we were exploring it would seem absurd not to infer that all were the same form, and record them as common—though we should really be absolutely certain of only the few that had been shot.
As a matter of fact it is possible to make a misidentification in the case of almost any sight record and we also make misidentifications when we have specimens actually in hand, while every reviser of a group has a different opinion as to the disposition of specimens from certain regions. Therefore it should be clear that no system of names will ensure absolute accuracy.
In view of all this why not follow previous custom and make our identifications generic, specific and subspecific where the evidence points with reasonable clearness; using “sp.?” or “subsp.?” where there is a real doubt?
Nomenclature is now bearing about all the burdens it will stand and with the excessive multiplication of genera, the establishment of several different kinds of intergradation, the proposed revision in the forms of names according as they are regarded as adjectives or nouns—it is rapidly weakening both in utility and stability, and ere long we may be in danger of a collapse of the whole cumbersome system!—Witmer Stone.]