. The illustrated natural history [microform]. Birds; Natural history; Oiseaux; Sciences naturelles. THE TEIINATE KINGFISIIi:!}. 178 aiul a line round the back of the head are blaukish gi'een. The genus Tarysfptera is well illus- trated by the well-known though sonie- wliat scarce Ternate Kingfisher, a bird which- may be easily recognised by the peculiar form of the tail. The generic name is of Greek origin, and signifiea Long-winged, and is rather longer than needful, tl:e simpler form of the word being Tanyptera, or more properly Tany- pteryx. liut when once a systematic naturalist begins to
. The illustrated natural history [microform]. Birds; Natural history; Oiseaux; Sciences naturelles. THE TEIINATE KINGFISIIi:!}. 178 aiul a line round the back of the head are blaukish gi'een. The genus Tarysfptera is well illus- trated by the well-known though sonie- wliat scarce Ternate Kingfisher, a bird which- may be easily recognised by the peculiar form of the tail. The generic name is of Greek origin, and signifiea Long-winged, and is rather longer than needful, tl:e simpler form of the word being Tanyptera, or more properly Tany- pteryx. liut when once a systematic naturalist begins to indulge in so-called elassical nomenclature, he seems to be irresistibly attracted by the words in proportion to their length and abstruse- ness. Thus it happens that the pages of our scientific works are disfigured by vast quantities of cacophonic combina- tions of syllables, many of them entirely needless, and the greater number of such l/u'barous construction, that neither EoHiau nor Greek would acknowledge tliem as belonging to his own language. Tlie general common sense of those who love Nature for her own sake, and not for the sake of the harsh vocabulary Avhich has been appended to science, has now begun to revolt against the cumber- some phraseology which lias been so needlessly employed, and M-hich serves in many eases to deter real lovers and ob- servers of Nature from entering into the details of science at the cost of so great a task to the nu'inory as is now needed to gain the character of a scientific man. Tlie unnecessary multiplication of l/enera has now come to such a })iteh, that, according to a well-known writer (in (his sultject, "the study of oriiithology (we may say zoology) is merging into a study of barbarous nomenehiture; we shall s(M;n have a genus fur every species ; and tiiis is called'scirnce !" Tlie Ternatf Kingfisher is one of those species which are decorated with riehly coloured ])Iumago, is a truly handsome and striking bird. Th
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectnaturalhistory
