Page:Condor11(2).djvu/11

 Mar., 1909 THE POPULAR NAMES OF BIRDS 45 fox who lost his tail in a trap, and wonders whether the plea may not be an en- deavor to make fashionable the bob-tailed names that have unfortunately, here and there, got into print. Then there are "reformers" who would discard a well established name be- cause it is inappropriate. No policy can be more mistaken. What difference does it make if a Purple Finch is not purple or the Louisiana Tanager is not found within the present day boundaries of Louisiana? There is hardly a name on the list that would not be subject to removal if everybody's whims were consulted. Let us at least strive for stability in vernacular names and accept those that have grown into general use. Even modern ]unco and Vireo, like some generic names in botany, have gained vernacular recognition. In the promised new edition of the Check-List we hope to see subspecific pop- ular names as sharply differentiated as are the subspecific trinomials. Every race of the Song Sparrow or Brown Creeper or California Jay or Hairy Woodpecker ought to have a trinomial popular name if our list is to be uniform. It will require some ingenuity to meet the details of this problem, but now that the trinomial has come home to roost, the consequences must be met, and the awkward inconsisten- cies of the old Check-List overcome. It won't do to say "Western Savanna Sparrow" for one race and "Bryant's Marsh Sparrow" for another. In such cases there is room for real reform of a kind that is neither reactionary nor subversive of names that have become household words. Our Check-List must be popular if it is to retain its authoritative position as to vernacular names and the utmost con- servatism is necessary if it is to keep in touch with the rank and file of the army of people who take a deep interest in North American birds. ew Fork City. NEST OF THE DIfSKY POOR-WILL (PJJALAEJVOPTILUS 2VUTTALL! CA LIFORNIC US) By JOSEPH MAILLIARD WITH ON PHOTO BY TH AUTHOR Y acquaintance with the Dusky Poor-Will, slight at the time and but little closer now, commenced away back in the very early seventies, when as a small lad I used to hunt for game of any sort on the back ranges of the Rancho San Geronim0, sometimes flushing one of these singular birds among the short brush on the rocky hills, or, perhaps, when in camp hearing their plaintive call at dawn or dusk. Speaking of their call I would like to relate an incident that happened in connection with it. On our ranch is a spot marked on the old maps as "Hunters' Camp," from whence many a large shipment of venison had been made to the San Francisco markets in early days, and even now the best spot in the vicinity for a hunting camp. In the summer of 1876, if my memory serves as to date, my col- lege chums assisted in the building of a log cabin on this spot where we could keep our blankets and cooking utensils and run up to from time to time for a little outing. While building the cabin I had noticed that on two or three evenings in succession a Dusky Poor-Will had commenced to call (to his mate ?) at exactly eight o'clock. It happened that the onl 7 watch in camp stopped one da7, from not having been