^■^^ ""■" n%. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I 128 IIIM 12.2 m •m ^ :" Hill 2.0 1.8 |l.25 1.4 1.6 < 6" - ► V] e3 .^# % c-^* <$> /a .> /^ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY 14580 (716) 872-4503 vV CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut canadien de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checited below. D D D D D n n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur6e et/ou pellicul6e Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents L'institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes n Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur6es et/ou pellicul^es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages ddcolordes, tachetdes ou piqu^es □Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es □ Showthrough/ Transparence □ Quality of print varies/ Quality in^gale de I'impression □ Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire D D Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ ■I se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmdes. I — I Only edition available/ D Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 filmies d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. n Additional comments / Commentaires suppl6mentaires: This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est U\m6 au taux de rMuction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 1 1 V ia)( 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here ha* been reproduced thanke to the generosity of: Douglas Library Queen's University L'exemplaire filmi fut reproduit grAce A la gAnArositi de: Douglas Library Queen's University The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Las images suivantes ont 4tA reproduites avec le plus grand soin. compte tenu de la condition at de la nettetA de l'exemplaire film*, et en conformity avec las conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page \ii^ith a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ► (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END "), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimte sont filmis en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration. soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniire image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols —^ signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent dtre fiimis A des taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est fiimA A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 S 6 ■PM wmmmmmmmmi OvAf-Jt) o>*tjt> j'V vVv^N THE COUES CHECK LIST . OF North American Birds. SECOND ElUTION, Brbteety to IBate, ani) entirelg i^ctsrittcn, unlicr Bircctton of ttie ^utijor, WITH A DICTIONARY OK THE I * • • • I I • • t • I • • • 1 * I ■ « » • » • • 1 t I * > # ■ I ■ « I . t • • • I * • • • lit* ETYMOLOGY. ORTHOGRAPHY, AND ORTHOEPY OF illE SCIENTIFIC NAMES, THE CONCORDANCE OF PREVIOUS LISTS, AND A CATALOGUE OF HIS ORNITHOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS. BOSTON: ESTES AND LAURIAT. 1882. ^l-'^''/7.C'6 J « I t I » I • • t • • • • • • t < • • < I • - • • • • • ••• . ft t •••• Copyright, 188S, By ESTES AND LaURIAT. University Press: John Wilson anu Son, Camdhid(;u. INTRODUCTION. In 1873, shortly after the publication of the author's " Key to North American Birds," appeared the original edition of this " CMieck List," which was almost imme- diately reissued in connection with the same writer's " Field Ornitiiology," in 1874. That list reflected the classification and nomenclature of the "Key" with much exactitude, although it included, in an Ap|)cndix, a few species additional to those described in the " Key," and made son.e slight changes in the nanu's. Excepting some little comment in foot-notes and in the Ai)pendix, Ihe original "Check List" was a bare catalogue of scientific and vernacular names, printed h» thick type on one side of the paper. Meanwhile, the science of Ornithology has progressed, and our knowledge of North American birds has increased, both in extent and in precision, until the orig- inal list, faithful as it was at the time, fails now to answer the i)urpose of adequately reflecting the degree of perfection to which the subject has been brought. A new edition has therefore become necessarj'. The list has been revised with the utmost care. The gratifying degree of accu- racy with which it represented our knowledge of 1873 is exhibited in the fact, that it is found necessary to remove no more than ten names. On the other hand, the progress of investigation has resulted in adding one hundred and twenty names to the list, and in showing the necessity or exi)ediency of making many changes in nomenclature. The exact analysis of the differences between the two lists is given beyond. In revising the list for the main jnirpose of detemining the ornithological sfatns of every North American bird, the most scrupulous attention has been paid to the matter of nomenclature, — not only as a part of scientific classification, deter- mining the technical relations of genera, species, and varieties to each other, but also as involved in writing and speaking the names of birds correctly. The more closely this matter was scruthiized, the more evidences of inconsistency, negligence, F 4 INTRODUCTION. or ignorance were discovered in our habitual use of names. It was tlierefore dctcrniinvd to submit the current catalogue of North American birds to a rigid examination, with reference to the spelling, pronunciation, and derivation of ever)' name, — in short, to revise the list from a philological as well as an ornithological standpoint. The present "Check List," therefore, differs from the original edition in so far as, instead of being a bare catalogue of names, it consists in a treatise on the ety- mology, orthography, and orthoepy of all the scientific, and man}' of the vernacular, words employed in the nomenclature of Noith American birds. Nothing of the sort has been done before, to the same extent at any rate ; and it is confidently expected that the information given here will prove useful to many who, however familiar they may l)e with the appearance of these names on paper, have comparatively little notion of the derivation, signification, and application of the words ; and who unwittingly speak them as they usually hear them pronounced, that is to say, with glaring impropriety. No one who adds a degree of classical proficiency to his scientific acquirements, be the latter never so extensive, can fail to handle the tools of thought with an ease and precision so greatly enhanced, that the merit of ornitho- logical exactitude may be adorned with the charm of scholarly elegance. The purpose of the present " Check List" is thus distinctly seen to be twofold : First, to present a complete list of the birds now known to inhabit North America, north of Mexico, and including Greenland, to classify them systematically, and to name them conformably with current rules of nomenclature ; these being ornitho- logical matters of science. Secondly, to take each word occurring in such technical usage, explain its derivation, significance, and application, spell it correctly, and indicate its pronunciation with the usual diacritical marks ; these being purely philological matters, affecting not the scientific status of any bird, but the classical questions involved in its name. In the latter portion of his task, which, as is always the cose when thorough work of any kind is undertaken, proved to be more difficult and more protracted than had been expected, and delayed the appearance of the list for nearly a year after the ornithological portion had been practically completed, the author of the original list has received invaluable assistance from Mrs. S. Olivia Weston-Aiken, who cor- dially shared with him the labor of the philological investigation, and to whose scholarly attainments he is so largely indebted, that it is no less a duty than a pleasure to recognize the co-operation of this accomplished lady. ANALYSIS OF THE TWO EDITIONS. The original edition of the "Check List" ostensibly enumerates only 635 species of North American Birds. This is owing to tiie fact that only full species are num- bered, the many subspecies being given as a, b, &c., and some names being inter- polated without corresponding numbers, both in the body of the list and in the Appendix. By actual count there are found to be, in the body of the list, 750 ; to which 28 are added in the Appendix : 750 + 28 = 778. First, with regard to subtractions. It is in gratifying evidence of the general accuracy of the original list, that it is found necessary to remove only ten (10) names. Four of these arc extra-limital ; six are mere synonyms. The following is the — LIST OF SUBTRAHEND NAMES. 1. .aigiothiis fuscescens. Summer plumage of ^. linaria. 2. Centronyx ochrocephalus. Fall plumage of Passercidus bairdi. 3. Sphyropicus williamsoni. Male of S. thi/rofdes. 4. Lampornis mango. Extra-limital. 6. Agjrrtria linnaei. Extra-limital. 6. Momotus coeruleiceps. Extra-limital. 7. Ibis thalassina. Young of Ple(jadis ■ birds has never before • been formally incorporated with the North American, a8 is done in the present instance. Aside from such additions, the increment is reprc- Bcnted by species or (chiefly) subspecies named as new to science since 1873 ; by a few restored to the list ; and by two imported and now naturalized sjKicics. 'I'iio following is the full — LIST OF ADDEND NAMES. [Continued on p. 10] 1 . Turdus migratorius propinquus. Since degcribcd by Ridgway. Western I'. 8. 2. Turdus lliacus. Greenland. 3. Harporhynohus ourvlrostris (verus). Restored. Arizona. 4. Oyaneoula sueoioa. Alaska. 5. Regulus satrapa olivaoeus. Recognized as a subspecies. 6. Parus rufescens neglectus. Since described by Ridgway. California. 7. Parus cinctus. Alaska. 8. Psaltriparus melanotis. Restored. Nevada. Arizona. 0. Catherpes mexlcanus (verus). Restored. Texas. 10. Thryothorus ludovloianus miamensis. Since described by Ridgway. Florida. 11. Anorthura troglodytes pacificus. Recognized as a subspecies. 12. Telmatodytes palustrls paludicola. Recognized as a subspecies. 13. Alauda arvensis. Greenland ;" Alaska ;" Bermudas. 14. Motacilla alba. Greenland. 15. Mniotilta varia borealis. Recognized as a subspecies. 1 6. Parula nigrllora. Since described by Coues. Texas. 17. Helminthophaga lawrencii. Since described by Ilerrick. New Jersey. 18. Helminthophaga leucobronchialis. Since described by Brewster. Mass. 1 9. Helminthophaga cincinnatiensis. Since described by Langdun. Ohio. 20. Peucedramus olivaceus. Arizona. 21. DendrcBca palmarum hypochrysea. Since described by Ridgway. 22. Siurus naevius notabilis. Since described by Grinnell. Wyoming. 23. Cardellina rubrifrons. Arizona. 24. Vireo flavoviridis. Restored. Texas. 25. Vireo solitarius cassini. Recognized as a subspecies. 26. Passer montanus. Naturalized. 27. Leucosticte atrata. Since described by Ridgway. Colorado. 28. Leucosticte australis. Recognized as a species. 29. Leucosticte tephrocotis litoralis. Recognized as a snbspeclea. 30. .^giothus linaria holboelli. Recognized as a subspecies. 31. .^giothus hornemanni. Greenland. 32. Astragalinus notatus. Restored. Kentucky. 33. Passerculus sandvicensls alaudinus. Recognized as a subspecies. 34. Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni. Since described by Allen. Illinois. 35. Peucaea aestivalis illinoensis. Since described by Ridgway. Illinois. 36. Peucaea ruficeps boucardi. Arizona. 37. Junco hiemalis annectens. Recognized as a subspecies. 38. Junco hiemalis dorsalis. Recognized as a subspecies. 39. Junco hiemalis cinereus. Arizona. 40. Passerella iliaca megp.rhyncha. Recognized as a subspecies. 41. Molothrus aeneus. Texas. 42. Sturnella magna rriexicana. Texas. • " A Catalogue of the Birds of North America," by Robert Ridgway, in Pr. Nat. Mus., ii, pp. 16.3-246, published since the above was written, includes Greenland birds, together with various Mexican species not yet found within our limits. ■i u ANALYSIS OF rilE TWO EDITIONS. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 64. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. Icterus vulgaris, lit'stored. .South Curolina. , Quiscalus purpureus eeneus. Kucugnized um a MiibBp«>fiei. Cyanocitta stelleri anneotens. Recognized ud ii muIisih-lkh Perisoreus canadensis fumifrons. Sincu described by Kidgway. Alanka. Sturnus vulgaris. Greenland. Pitangus derbianus. Texas. Myiodynastes luteiventris. Arizona. Mylarchus erythrooercus. Texas. Empidonax flaviventris difiioilis. Kestored. Western U. S. Ornithlum imberbe. 'I'exas. Nyctidromus albicollis. Texas. Selasphorus alleni. Since (lesiTil)ecl by llenshaw. California. Calothorax lucifer. Arizona. Amazilia fusoicaudata. Texas. Amazilia yucatanensis. Texas. lache latirostris. Arizona. Chordediles popetue minor. Florida. Crotophaga sulcirostris. Texas. Pious stricklandi. Arizona. Scops asio maxwellae. Since described by Ridgway. Oilorado. Scops trichopsis. Inserted on Kidgway's autliority. Arizona. Strix cinerea lapponica. Recognized l)y Ridgway. Alasita. Strix nebulosa alleni. Since described by Ridgway. Florida. Surnla funerea ulula. Recognized by Ridgway. Alaska. Speotyto cunlcularla florldana. Since described by Ridgway. Florida. Astur atrlcaplllus strlatulus. Recognized as a subspecies. Western N. Am. Falco sacer obsoletus. Recognized as a subspecies. Falco Islandlcus. Restored. Greenland. Falco sparverloides. Florida. Buteo albocaudatus. Texas. Urubltlnga anthraclna. Arizona. Thrasyaetus harpyla. Texas. Hallaetus alblcllla. (Jreenland. Engyptlla alblfrons. Texas. Coturnlx dactyllsonans. Naturalized. Charadrlus fulvus (varus). Alaska. Charadrlus pluvlalls. (ircenland. .^glalltes hlatlcula. Greenland. Vanellus crlstatus. (ireenland. Haematopus ostrilegus. Greenland. Galllnago media, (ireenland. Arquatella couesl. Since described by Ridgway. Alaska. Pelldna alplna (vera), (ireenland. Actodromas acuminata. Alaska. Llmosa aegocephala. Greenland. Rhyacophllus ochropus. Nova Scotia. Numenlus phaeopus. (Jreenland. Ardea cinerea. Greenland. Qrus canadensis (vera = fraterculus). Recognized. Parra gymnostoma. Texas. Rallus longirostrls saturatus. Since described by Henslmw. Louisiana. Porzana maruetta. Greenland. Cygnus ferus. Greenland. Cynus bewickl. Restored. Arctic America. I"*" A^'ALySIS OF THE TWO EDITIONS. V 1 ! I 97. Anser albl&ons (verus). Greenland. 98.' Berniola brenta nigricans. Kecugnized a§ a lubgpeciei. 99. Somateria mollissima dresseri. Kecognized ai a subspecies. 100. Phaethon eethereus. Newfoundland. 101. Phalaorooorax violaoeus resplendens, Kecugnized aa a lubspecies. California. 102. Larus oaohinnans. Alaska. 103. Larus aiiinis. Greenland. 104. Larus oanus. Labrador. 105. CEstrelata bulweri. Greenland. 106. Podioipes auritus (verus). Greenland. 1 07. Braohjrrliamphus braohypterus. Restored. Pacific Coast. 108. Braohyrhamphus hypoleuous. California. 109. Braohyrhamphus oraverii. California. 110. Lomvla troile oalifornioa. Uecognized as a subspecies. California. The original number of names, 778, minus 10, plus 120, gives the total of 888 of the present edition of the " Check List." The number seems large, in comparison, and I am free to confess that it includes some — some twenty or thirty, perhaps — which m}' conservatism would not have allowed me to describe as valid, anc^ the validity of which I can scarcely endorse. I have nevertheless admitted them lu a place, because I preferred, in preparing a " Check List "for general purposes, lather to present the full number of names in current usage, and let them stand for what they may be worth, than to exercise any right of private judgment, or make any critical investigation of the merits of disputed cases. Probably, however, there are not more than thirty cases of birds retained in this list whose claims to be recog- nized bj' subspccific names can be scrioush- questioned. It should be observed, that the list is not yet to be regarded as finall}- filled. Our southern border has proved so fruitful of Mexican species, that various others douljtless remain to be there detected ; and several species described as Texan by Giraud in 1841 remain to be confirmed. With the accessions that may reasonably be expected, and under current usage in the discrimination of subspecific forms, the list will probably in a few years contain about 900 names of birds occurring in North America north of Mexico and inclusive of Greenland. It is to be added here, that the present southern boundar\' of " North America" is a political one, wholly arbitrar}- so far as natural Faunal areas are concerned. It would be far more satisfactory, from a scientific standpoint, to ignore the present political line, and construct the "North American" list upon consideration of the limits of the " Nearctic Region " of Sclater and Baird. This would be to extend our area along the table-lands and higher region of Mexico to about the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, but not so far in the tierras calientes of either coast of that countr}' : on an average about to the Tropic of Cancer. Such course would give us the natural instead of the political Omts of our country ; and I have no doubt that it will some day be taken. A few Cape St. Lucas birds have been so long in the "North American" Hst, that it is not thought worth while to displace tliem ; but with these exceptions, it is not intended to include any speci(;s not known to occur north of Mexico. ANALYSIS OF THE TWO EDITIONS. 9 Aside froi . those modifications whicli affect tlie ornitliological or scicntiflc ttnhii oftlie " C'lu'ck List," the changes in noinenelaturu are numerous antl in many cases radical. Witliont counting merely literal changes in the spelling of words, nominal clianges are made for one or another seeming good reason in upwards of l.>0 cases. In probably not more than .'50 of these, however, is the ornithological status of any l»ird modified ; the changes being simply nomcnclatural. This portion of the subject is concluded with the following table, showing the number of birds ascribed to North America by several authors who have published complete lists from 1814 to the present year. SUMMARY COMPARISONS. Total of North American Birds given by Wilson in 1814 <4 ti u u u u « n << n n it n n 1( (( (( « it n Bonaparte " 1838 . Bkewer " 1840 . AunrnoN " 1844 . Bauiu " 1858 . COUES " 1874 . RinuwAY " 1880 . CoUES " 1882 . 28.3* 471 • 401 .'50 = rh ; and when p is doubled, the second is fol- lowed by // ; (p = rrh. Among other transliterations frequently occurring may be noted : Final --q may or does become -a; final -os or -oi- becomes •us or -urn. The diphtliong ai becomes ce ; «['., l ; ot, oe; ov, u; w, yi. The letter y before itself, and before k and ^i becomes m ; tlius yy, yK, y^ = ny, nc, nch. It is needless to give formal examples of these rules here ; for the reader will find one or more of them illustrated on any page following the introductory matter. II * 1) 1 I • 5 3. ORTHOEPY, OR PRONUNCIATION. Correct pronunciation of Greek and Latin is a lost art. The best we can do now is to follow the usage of those scholars who conform most nearly with what thoy show reason for supposing to have been the powers of tl)e letters as spoken by the (J reeks and Romans. Unfortunately for the student, there are three reputable schools who pronounce certain letters, especially the vowels a, e, and t, so differently that their respective methods are irreconcilable. I, The Enylish Method. In England, and generally in America, excepting in the Jesuit colleges, the letters have neaily or exactly their English powers. This school teaches us " how not to do it," that is, to pronounce as the Greeks and Romans never did. If we imagine a dialv^gue between an English Professor of Latin and the Manes of Cicero, we are bound to infer that they avouUI not understand each other ; in fiict, that neither would know that the other was talking Latin ; though they might write to each other in identical words. Obviously, therefore, the Englisli method is to be siiunned. If the student will pronounce any word in the following list as if it were English, he will give it a sound the furthest possible removed from the right sound. The only excuse for the English method we ever heard is, that, as we do not know the rigiit pronunciation, a conventional and consistent substitute is better than any doubtful approximation; but such talk is a mere apology for the English/)/* idler, not a defence of that sorry makeshift. II. Tlie Continental Mnd is fol- -r) may or !comos te ; ccomes n ; an do now thoy sliow he Grceka •hools who that their ting in the 'his school iins never le INIancs ; in Aict, ght write )d is to be if it were it sound. not know than any pis idler, Kngland, esuits and )e defined, els having 3 Romans, Leading lie ; long » c % ; j like y ,• c and y hard or soft as they would be in English, and most other consonants as in English, nearly or exactly. III. T/ie Roman Method. This way of speaking Latin, if prattieaMe, is obvionsly preferable ; and it is believed that a close ai)pioximation to Latin orthoepy is fea- sib." " The world over, nearly all the Latin grammarians of the last qnarter of a century have urged a return to first principles. T'le Latin has rights of its own, and a demonstrated pronunciation wliioli should be respected." * The credit of lead- ing this reform in America has been ascribed to the late Professor S. S. llaldenian, of the University of Pennsylvania, whose "Elements of Latin Pronunciation" was published at Philadelphia in 1851. Nevertheless, the practicability of introducing such radical reform among natural- ists, to most of whom the writing and speaking of classical words is but an incident of their scientific studies, may be seriously doubted, however desirable it is to do so. We question whether ornithologists, of tiiis generation at lea^t, can be induced to say Kikironta, Kirke, and Piklcorwus, or Chichemnia, Cfdrche, and Pichicorvus for Ciceronia, Circe, and Picicorvns, or wirraynce for virens. It ma3' be most judicious at present, and best on the whole, to pave the wa}' for the final consummation by carrying into practice the many points on which scholars agree, without insisting upon the extremes respecting which diversity of good authority is admitted. Upon such understanding we offer, for pronouncing the Latin names of North American birds, a scheme wliich insists upon tlie Roman sounds of the vowels and diphtliongs, but yields the point in the disputed cases of certain consonants ; conced- ing, for example, that c may remain soft before c, /, and y, and that v need not be turned into w. AVe do not profess to go into the subtleties, or even all tlie niceties of Latin orthoepy. Mucli of the end we have in view will be attained, if we can succeed in preventing those barbarisms and vulgarisms which constantl}' come from the lips of some persons of great accomplishment in the science of ornithology. Having ourselves heard Oh-nanth and Fidhj-rjewler for (Enanthe and Fuligula, we need not affect to conceal our belief that some orr,iti'ologists ma}' profitably look a little further into the matter than they ai)pear to ha ^ hitherto done. Vowels. The difference between a "long" and a "short" vowel is essentially one of quantity only, not of quality : it is actually the prolongation of a sound, not neces- sarily involving a difference in sound. Thus, if we dwell never so long on the " short" a of fat, it does not convert tlie sound of that letter into that heard in the "long" a oi fate. The phonetic quality of a vowel should therefore be distin- guished from its prosodiac quantity. Practically, however, no such discrimination is to be made in the case of the Latin vowels. We only know them as " long " or "short;" we determine their quantity by prosodiac rules, and make their quality * W. G. IJichnrdson on Latin rronunciation : In Report of the Commissioner of Education for 187G. 8vo, Washington, 1878. p. 484. "TT" i: ! ; H 'lii 16 REMARKS ON THE USE OF NAMES. correspondent. For all that is known to the pontrar^', the Romans may have had, for example, as many qualities of their a as wo have in Knglisii ; hut as we know only their " long" and " short" o, it is aimpl}- a matter of more or less of the same sound of the letter, not a dilRrencc in sound. Our only resource, tliereforc, is to ascertain the natural or aecjuired quantity of the vowels according to the standard authorities, and i)ronounce them conformably therewith. It is the rule, witli few exceptions, tliat a vowel before two consonants, or before the double consonants x and z, is long. We arc inclined to believe that in man^' cases the full length of tl.e vowel itself is not implied, but rather the length of the whole syllabic in which it occurs. For instance, in the word melnnorhi/nr/ms, the vowel »/ is encased in five consonants ; and the time retiuired to apeak the whole syllable -rhynch-, in metric composition, is what makes the y long. The Romans may have had the y as short in quality as the y's in our word pygmy. Nevertheless, we have no assurance of this, and can only mark the y long, which means that this syl- lable is to be pronounced -rheench-. Take the word fnscescens, again, where each vowel is followed by two consonants. In this country we seldom if ever hear any thing but sounds of all three of the vowels as short as if the\- were Knglisli. We must, iiowever, mark tiiem long, which is equivalent to directing tlie word to be vivWciX foosnysnyncc. IJut it does not follow tiiat a naturally ishort vowel lengthened only " b}- position" is to be sounded at full length. Thus, in fffinis, tnsignis, Ofiso- letiis, from inJ-, in-, oh-, the long mark indicates the quantity of tlie syllable rather than of the vowel. The chief exceptions above alluded to are furnished by the con- currence of a nnite and a liquid, when tlie preceding vowel remains short, in prose, at least. A vowel before a single consonant, or before another vowel, is short, as a rule ; but there are so many exceptions to this, that each case of the kind requires to be considered on its own merits. An accented vowel is likelv to be long from this cause alone. Diphthongs arc long, except before another vowel. In Latin words derived from the Greek, the vowels e and o are likely to be long or short, according to whether they stand for Greek eta or epsilon, oniicron or omega. So, also, the Latin i is long when representing the Greek diphthong €i, as it often does ; and a vowel is likely to be long when in any case it comes by the con- traction of two or more vowels into one. Thus, the frequent Latin termination -pus, from the Greek />oms, is long, or should be, like the proper Latin pes (foot). With these slight remarks, we take up the vowels, diphthongs, and consonants in al[)habetieal order. A. Orthoepists reckon from four to seven sounds of this vowel in English, the four usuall}- recognized being those heard in fa. , fat, far, fall . The English sounds of rt \n fate, fat, and fall are luiknown in Latin. Long a in Latin is always sounded as a in psalm; it is almost exactly the I^iglish interjection ah! — the name of the letter r without any roll. Short Latin a is the same sound, but with less stress and less prolonged, like the a in diadem, or the final a in Maria, Amelia, Hannah. Thus 4 1 HEM AUKS ON THE USE OF NAMES. 17 have had, I we know ' the same , or before it in manj' gtli of the ytichns, the the whole wians may Lholoss, we at this syl- iv-hcre each r hoar any jj,Hsh. AVc ivonl to he longthcnod ii(/nis, uhso- ahle rather by the con- t, in prose, as a rnlc ; uiros to be from this to be long oniicron or thong ct, as )y the con- tcnnination (foot). isonants in •English, the lish sonnds ys sonnded ame of the stress and ah. Thus in th. frequently recurring word americana, all three a's have the same quality, but differ in quantity ; the first and the last a being sliort and the middle « long, sitnply because there is where the accent, or stress of voice, comes to prolong the sound. If the accent in this case were on the antepenult, all three a's would have exactly the same quantity and quality. Long a as in psalm. Short a as in diadem. E. Long e has the sound of French c in fete, or English e in tfiey, or English a in fitte. Short e is like English e in them, not quite so short as in met ; something between mate and met. Example of long e : ixillpis, pronounced ache-seal- i-pace. liong c as in (hei/. Short e as in them. I. Long t is invariably like the English i in machine, police, oblique, pique ; that is, the English ee '\nfeet, ea mfeat, &c. ; but never the English i oifyht, night. Short i is the same soinid, but as brief and abrupt as possible, like English i in possible., ability, imitate. Short and long t are both heard in intrigue. Long t as in machine, pique. Sliort t as in ability, imitate. O. This letter, long or short, has alwaj's its pure English sound, there being no qualities of Latin o to correspond to such auouialies as the English o in movey more, come, «&c. Long o as in old, no. Short o as in odd, not. U. It is not easy to correctly appreciate the powers of this vowel in Latin. Long tt never has the sound of English u, eu, or ew, as in fury, fend, few ; but is always broad as well as long, like o in move, oo in moon, fool. Short u is not the i:nglish u in tub or English o in love, but quite like the English u in bull, fill. Take for example the common word rufus, where the first u is long, the second short. Tills word is neither roofiiss, nor rcirf-nss, nor rewf-ooce ; l)ut if the consonants per- mitted, it would rhyme exactly with rue-fuL If I am asked " How many cats?" I may reply " I say ruefully there are a roof- full," and in so saying twice speak both the long and the short Latin u. Long M as o in move, oo in moon, ve in rue. Short M as in bull, full, pull. Y. This letter, as a vowel, has practically the sound of i, long or short ; more exactly, that of the German ii (uc), as in Miller, which is nearer Mllhr than Mailer. It is scarcely a Latin letter, and chiefly occurs in words from the Greek, correspond- ing to Greek upsilon ; as hyperboreus, uropyginlis. It is to be remarked, that any vowel is or may l)e modified in quality as well as in quantity by its consonantal combination, this being especially the case when followed by the letter r. It is as if the r were rolling away, and dragging the vowel after. Compare fuscus with turtur ; the first with the last syllable of tardus, jji ill 18 iiif Id I, t REMARKS ON THE USE OF NAMES. I III if M lill ;t 1 nil &c. "We suspect that some of the less evident powers ascribed by orthocpists to various vowels, are not inherent in the vowels themselves, but due to consonantal uiodiiication of tlie sound. Let us add tiiat orthoepists commonly and with great propriety* recognize wlint they call the ''neutral" vowel-sound, a quality so slight and obscure, that any one of the vowels may express it indifferentl}'. Thus, if we pronounce the word martyr as rapidly as p( ,sible, it makes scarcely an}- appreciable difference whether it be written martar, marter, martir, martor, martur, or martyr; as we say scarce!}' any thing more than martr, the six " neutral" vowels are phonetically interchangeable. DiPFmiONGS. In diphthongs, each v A must be sounded, and the two sounds be smoothly combined. Two vowels coming together do not necessarily form a diphtliong. For example, aer is a word of two syllables, and ae'don one of three ; tlie vowels in these cases to be separately and distinctly uttered, as in English aerial. Proper diphthongs, »". e., two vowel-sounds combined to make a third different from either, are comparative!}- rare ; and all the following components of diphtliongs also come together without combining. ^ consists of ah-ay, which when rapidly spoken becomes so nearly like Latin long e (see above) as to be practically the same. It was originally written ai, and is by some directed to be so sounded. AI is a very composite sound, t itself is a compound, being ah-ee, the whole being therefore ah-afi-ee, which when run together becomes very near!}- our English eye or tlie pronoun /. It seems quite like the French naif, naive, or English Lnife. A and O do not combine, and seldom come together. AU is oftcnest heard, but wrongly, as in cause, or as aw in awl, law, atc/ul. It is like the ow in how, now, owl. It is precisely the German an, as in aud). E and A do not combine ; they frequently come together, especially at the ends of words, but each is separately pronounced. E. g., yEne-as Bore-as, Arde-a. EI is frequent. The analysis is ay-ah-ee, contracted to a drawling sound little different from long English a in mate ; more exactly, English ei in vein, eight. E and O do not combine. E-os, E-npsaltria, &c. EU is equal to ay-oo. Strongly and rapidly uttered, it becomes the long Eng- lish u in tiihe, ve in due, etv in few, eu mfeiid, ou in you; and especially when initial represents the whole word yon. For example Eugenes = Yotigenes = Ayoogenes. It seldom occurs, except in Greek words. lA, IE, II, 10, lU do not combine. The very frequent ia, especially ending a word, and the it, so frequent in the genitives of persons' names, are always two full syllables. The common iu, in the ending of words makes two syllables: e.g., spuri-us. So seri-cs, rati-o have each three syllables. Some apparent diphthongs of vocal t with a following vowel, are really of consonantal i, which is_/, pronounced y ; as plebeius, ^= plele-jus, T^xonounccA plehe-yus. i!:n REMARKS ON THE USE OF NAMES. 19 loopists to )iisonantal rnizc what it any one ord marlyr 'tlicr it 1)0 arccly an^' angcable. J smoothly long. For vowels in il. Proper •om either, ) also come like Latin :ten at, and the whole mr English ish knife. mcful. It ally at the s, Arde-a. sound little iffht. long Eng- rhon initial togenes. It I}- ending a ys two full blcs : e. g., diphthongs ironounced OA and 00 and OXJ do not combine ; bo-ops l.as two, arcto-us or arcto-a three, and o-olugy four syllables, ou diphthong very early passed into long .3. OE, when fully but rapidly said in combination, seems to yield ii\c diphthong a preceded by a slight w sound ; the whole nearly as the English word way. If not this, it is indistinguisliable from Latin a. We are incliiicd to say teay-nunt/te for cenanthe ; if not this, then ay-nanthe, not ee-nanthe nor oi-nanthe. The combination U sometimes interchangeable with a, as calum or calum. It is to be carefully dis- tinguished from and e uncorabined ; as in Arsinoe, Cldo'ephaga. 01. These two letters may combine or not. Generally they do not, each being a distinct syllable. Thus, Pic-o-i-des is a word of four syllables, the second and third of which are o-ee. oi in combination is given by some as iu English oil, but is perhaps more nearly the French oei in ceil. As ai passed into «, so oi early became CB, and some direct the letter to be sounded as oi. UA and UE, in combination, yield sounds like English wah and way ; as suaoii, suecica. UI, equivalent to oo-ah-ee, is like the French oui (yes), very nearly the English pronoun we. The rare UU seems to be simpl}- u "X extreme length : equus. Y making a diplithong with a following vowel gives the sound of such vowel preceded by w ; as, Myiarchus = Mweearchus. It only occurs iu Greek words, by transliteration for upsilon. In some cases three or four vowels come together ; but the pronunciation va&y usually be determined b^- the foregoing rules. Thus : Agelceus, Pocecetes, Halieeetus. In these cases respectively ae and oe are combined, and pronounced as above said ; the other vowels are distinct. Hal-i-a-'e-tus is a word of five syllables. My-i-o-di- oc-tes is one of six syllables, though in practice reduced to five, by slurring the y and i togctlier. In trudeaui, again, are four vowels together ; but in this case eau com- bine into long o, and the word has but three syllables. Consonants. Most of the consonants have their English powers, pure and simple. Some, however, call for remark, especially in certain of their combinations. The letters c and g are now said to be " always hard," without qualification. It is a much vexed question. As it is not demonstrated tliat the Romans had no soil c and g, we do not see that we may not be permitted to retain these sounds. C then is hard, like k, before a consonant or a, o, ti, soft before e, i, y, and before the diphtliongs ce, ai, oe, oi. ch is always hard ; there is no sound of ch as in church, still less as in chaise, in Latin. G is hard or soft under the same circumstances as c, with the important excep- tion, that it is hard before y in words derived from the Greek, when the y results from the Greek upsilon (v). Example: Gymnocitta, not Jymnocilta. J is simply t, interchangeable with it, and always pronounced like the y in yes, or as in hallelujah. rr. rrr H II I 1 ( 1 j 1 i j 1 1 ^ ♦ 20 liEMAIiKS ON THE USE OF NAMES. N followed by c hard, k, g, or x has a nasal or twanging sound of ng ; as in English aid/c, auger, pronounced ang-kle, ang-ger. rrcccdod by m or g, it does not destroy tht-so letters : as Mntotilta, Gnathodon. P is not silent before t; thus \n psallria artieulatc both. So in the digraph ph, some direct to sound both, as in vp-hill. It is difllcult, if not impossible, to articulate both letters, especially when, as often hai)pens, a th succeeds. For example, in erythrophthalmus we find tluit we cannot make four sounds for the phth as in vp-hill and hot-house. Practically pli becomes something between / and t\ just as \\\ Stephen or Steven. So also the original Indo-European asi)irate3 />//, rM, (/A are not retained in any Uuropoau language; there is nothing to correspond to log-house. QU is sometimes followed by another m, as in altiloquus, propinquus. It would seem to be rendered by kwooce. R is strongly pronounced with a trill. It is heard at the height of its power in the combination rrh ; as in catarrhactes, pgrrhoirhoa. S invariably retains its sharp hissing sound. Thus essence is a rhyme with fuscescens (as far as the s-sound is concerned) ; so also virens = virragnce, not n/-rem. Compare hiss or this with his. So particular were the Komans to avoid tlie z sound of s, that they even altered antecedent consonants ; saying, for example, urps and pleps for vrbs and plebs. T always preserves its sound. There is nothing to correspond with the English -tionz= shun, «&c. K.g., gra-ti-a, rat-i-o, itiit-i-um. V is directed b^- some to be sounded like English w in we. But this is rarely done. X i.s always ks or cs, never gz or s, even when initial, as in Xema, Xanthocephalus. Z, which only occurs in Latin words of Greek extraction, is a double letter equivalent to r/r, and the best authorities recommend the d sound to be articulated. Thus Aphriza, Spiza, are pronounced A/reedza, Speedza. A word in regard to the pronunciation of modern i)roper names, as of persons and places, so often recurring in ornithology'. After mature deliberation, we have decided to mark tlicm for their pronunciation in the language to which they belong. It seems finical and pedantic to attempt to Latinize them ; for to carry out that plan to its logical result would be to give Irunonis instead of hrowni ; and even then some names would utterl}- defy us, unless changed beyond all recognition. So we have adopted the rule of preserving the orthography and orthoepy of all modern proper names, even though containing the letter w. Barbarous geographical words of unsettled or no known orthography may, however, be sometimes dressed in quasi- Latin ; thus it is perfectly permissible to render anonalasehkae by unalascce. We make this remark to explain what must seem inconsistent in our use of diacritical marks in some places ; for we mark the vowels long or short as the syllables are pronounced in the language to which the word belongs, not as they would be in Latin. BK MARKS ON THE USE OF NAMES. n ng ; as ni I; docs not igrnph ph, :)S8iblc, to [ids. For (Is for the iCon / and [)i rates Ui, correspond It would I power in lijme with at/nce, not IS to avoid r example, ic English 3 is rarely ocephalus. uble letter .rticulatcd. ersons and ve decided It seems plan to its then some we have jrn proper words of in quasi- scce. We diacritical llablcs are 3uld be in Accentuation. This is a matter of prime importance. For elegant, oven for bearable, pronun- ciation, it is essential to place the accent or stress of voice on the right 8yIIal)lc. Fortunately tiie rules arc simple, with comparatively few exceptione. Accent the penult when it is long. Accent the antepenult when the penult is short. Tiiesc two rules will carry us safely across the great majority of Latin words. In many cases lengthening tlie syllable, whether penult or antepenult, is actually equivalent to accenting it. We can scarcely recall a case of a short accented peiuilt ; but many short antepenults take the accent, which is simply because it cannot be thrown still further back. Modern proper names of three syllables with the accent on the first, keep it there after addition of the i of tlie genitive case ; as, aud'uboni, rich' nrdsoni. So important is the matter of accent, that were all other diacritical marks dis- pensed with, we could still pronounce the words with measurable accuracy, knowing where to put the stress of voice. The tendency in Knglish is constantly to throw the accent back as far as possi- ble ; and there is much of this same practice in the usual pronunciation of Latin. For the latter language, and especially for words derived from the Greek, we con- sider it vicious and undesirable. It seems to us much more sensible and natural in the case of a word compounded of two (J reek words, to keep the stress of the voice on the stem of each, than to throw it, for sake of glibncss, on the most insig- nificant syllable, often the mere connective vowel, and a short one at that. Take for example TiogJodyles, Lop/iopfimies, PhyUoscopus, or anj' similar words of four syllables, compounds of two words of two syllables each. It is glib to accent the antepenult, but it is done at the sacrifice of the strength and dignity of the stem which stands penult, and which we should prefer to accent, even if short. Where we have found it i)racticable on etymological grounds to lengthen and accent such penults, we have done so ; in general, however, we have closcl3' conformed to routine custom, especially as there is to be strongly set before the inexperienced student the necessity of avoiding the glaring impropriety of accenting the penult of erylhrocephaUts, for example. Tlie tendency of all persons who find it dillicult to handle a long new word, is to dissect it. with two or even three accents ; an(l per- haps the inclination of the scholar to show his erudition has unconsciously led him to the opposite extreme. Any " rule" or custom aside, the natural accent of poly- syllabic words is rhetorical — as if each syllable were a word. It may bo seen in those words whose looseness of composition, so to speak, leaves them like sen- tences ; as ne'i'ertfieless", not'withstaHd"ing. The naturalness of a'naly"lic, gti'o)net"ric contrasts favorably with the conventionality of ana'lysis, geo'metry ; and there is nothing in the quality of the final syllables to account for the ditrerences in accent. l>ut we are aware that our views of this matter will not pass current, even if they escape adverse criticism. £ i EXPLANATIONS. W % ' ' ; : • 1. The names In the Cheek List are consecutively numbered from first to last, wliether they be of species or of subspecies. Tlio latter are sufFiciently distiuguished by consisting of three terms instead «if two. 2. The names in the Dictionary arc numbered to correspond, each page containing the same nmiibers of the two series. 3. Tlie person's name in parentheses immediately after each bird's name is that of the original describer of the species or 8ubs)H'cie8. The unenclosed name succeeding is that of the authority for the particular combination of generic, specific, and subspecific terms adopted. When the original describcr is also the authority for the combination, a single unenclosed name is given. — The following arc the principal abbreviations: — All., Allen. And., Audubon. Bd, IJaird. Bodil., Boddaert. Bp., Bonaparte. Cab., Cabanis. Cass., Cassin. Garni)., Gambel. Gir., Giraud. Gm., Gmelin. Gr., Gray. L., Linnreus. Lafr., Lafresnaye. Lath., Latham. Later., Lawrence. Licht., Lichtcnstein. Nutt., Nuttall. licich.. Ueichcnbach. Eidri., Kiilgway. Scl., Sdater. Steph., Stephens. Sw., Swainson. Teinm., Teinminck. Towns., Townsend. v., Vieillot. Vi/j., Vigorsj. Watfi, Waglcr. Wils., Wils.m. 4. After these terms como three letters, " B," " C," and " R," each followed by a number. These stand respectively for Baird's List, 1858, Cones' s Check List, 1874, and Itidrjwat/a Catalogue, 1880. The number following each of these letters is that which the bird bears in such lists. Thus, Tardus migratorins was named by Linna;us, who is also the authority for the combination, and is l.'iS of Baird's list, 1 of Coucs's, and 7 of Kidgway's. The dash .ifter any one of these letters shows that the species is not contained in B, C, or R, as the case may be. 5. The note of exclamation, in parentheses, indicates that the species is in North America only a straggler from the country that the following initial letter denotes: E., Europe, A., Asia, M., Mexico, W. I., West Indies. G. shows the bird to bo only North American as occurring in Greenland. 6. The note of interrogation, similarly enclosed, tneans that the name is considered to be of slight or uncertain value, — as of a subspecies scarcely distiuguished from its stock, or of a species not well known. 7. The Index will be found to contain matter additional to, or corrective of, that in the body of the work. See p. 137. CHECK LIST OK North American Birds. last, wliothcr by cdiiHisting untaining the is tliat of tlio is that of the Tins adopted. lo uiicnch>sc(i I'ninson. Tomminck. Townsend. iMot. igors. Waglcr. IVilson. by a number. id Ridgioaifs bird bears in authority for . The dash or R, aa tho Drth America E., Europe, th American lered to be of tock, or of a f, that in the 1. Turdus migratorius L. Bisa. ci. rt. Itobln. 2. Turdus migratorius propinquus Rldg. b — , c — . r u. (?) Rocky Mountain Robin. 3. Turdus migratorius conflnis (Bd.) Coues. b — . c la. r 8. St. Lucas Robin. 4. Turdus iliacus L. b — . c — . r 6. (g. !e.) Redwing. 6. Turdus nsevius Gm. b ise. c 2. r 9. Varied Thrush. 6. Turdus mustelinus Gm. b u%. c 3. r i. Wood Thrush. Tflr'-dfis mi-gra-tS'-rl-iSs. Lat. Umhm, a thrush. Lat. m!nro, to move from one place to another ; mignttor, a wanderer, a migrant ; mtqratorms, migratory. T. m. pre-pin'-qtiQs [propeenkwooeej. Lat. propinquas, near, neighboring; as related to /. mi;/ralonua. T. m. c5n-n'-nls [confeenis]. Lat. co,,/!„;s, subs, or adj , a neighbor, neighboring; here in sense of closely related to T. mi;,ralorius. *> - f^ h. il-r-a-cQs. Lat. itiams, relating to the ilia, or haunches; also, Lat. IHarus, Gr. 'l\taK6,, reiatmg to Troy, Trojan; application obvious in neither case. But Aristotle gives a Kina ot thrush, called l\,ds. supposed by old ornithologists, as Oesner and Belon, to be tns speces, said to be called by the modern Greeks iKKd,, rvKd., .IxKv l\>ds, or KtxKa IMiSa; and the actual form, Tnvdus ilktcns, was an old name when Linnaeus adopted it. naS'-vI-tSs Inayveusl. Lat. navim, spotted, from mmts, a mole (birth-mark). — The suh-^ronm Hrsperocich/a is Gr. tWcpo,, Lat. vesperns, evening, U., western, and nlx^a or Klx^ri, a thrush. ^ T. mQs-te-H'-naa. Lat. must.limis, weasel-like; .'.e., in this case, tawny. -The sub-genus Hylocidifa is Gr. PAr>, a wood, and Klx\a. 4. T 6. T 6. lr 24 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. I i Ij '-I ! 'i 7. Turdus fliscescens Steph. b isi. c 6. u 2. Wilson's Thrush. 8. Turdus unalascse Gm. b iso. c 46. u 5. Western Hermit Tlirush. ^ 9. Turdus unalascae auduboni (Bd.) Couos. b udvar. C4a. R5a. Audubon's Hermit Tlirush. 10. Turdus unalascae nanus (Aud.) Coues. b 149. C4. R56. Eastern Hermit Thrush. 11. Turdus ustulatus Nutt. b 152. 56. r 4. Oregon Olive-backed Tlirush. 12. Turdus ustulatus aliciae (Bd.) Coues. B 154. c 6a. R3. Gray-cheeked Thrush. 13. Turdus ustulatus swainsoni (Cab.) Coues. b 153. C5. R4o. Olive-backed Thrush. 7. T. fQs-ces'-c5ns [foosaysaynccj. Present participle of a supposed Lat. inceptive verb fiisnsco, I grow ilark or swarthy ; Lat. fiisco, of same signification. It means, or slioulil mean, less than Jhsciis ; i.e., somewhat dark ; is not otherwise applicable to the lightest- colored thrush of this group. 8. T. Q-n5-las'-caS. Of the Island of Unalaska. It is permissible, indeed desirable, to resolve Gmelin's barbarous word aonalasvLkuc into a purer form. With this orthography the word is of sufficiently classical aspect, and corresponds with alciscensis. See Aiiorllmm, No. 78, and Passerelbi, No. 283. This is T. jialliist var. nanus of the orig. cd. of the Check List. For the change, see Pr. Nat. Mus., ii, 1880, p. 1. 9. T. u. aud'-Q-b6n-L To John James Audubon, the "American Backwoodsman," and famous author of the " Birds of America." This is T. pallusi var. auduhoni of the orig. cd. of the Check List. 10. T. u. na'-nQs. Lat. nanus, from the Gr. vdwos or vdvos, a dwarf. This is T. pallasi of the orig. ed. It is true that nanus has of late been applied exclu- sively to the Western form, the true unalascie Gm. But the name nanus was originally based by Audubon on a bird from Pennsylvania, and only later amplified by him to include the Western form. The long survival of an error does not justify its continued perpetuation after detection. 11. T. Qs-tQ-ia'-tQs. Lat. usluhtus, perfect participle of usfuln,l scorch, singe; with reference to the ashy coloration, as if the bird had been charred. This stands as T. swainsoni var. ustulatus in the orig. cd. The case is precisely parallel with that of nanus \s. pallasi ; for Nuttall named the Oregon bird usliilahis in 1840, and Cab.-inis did not apply the name swainsoni to the Eastern Olive-backed Thrush till several years afterward. 12. T. u. a-lI'-cI-aS. To Miss Alice Kennicott, sister of Robert Kennicott, of Illinois. See Scops, No. 466. This is T. .iwain.ioni var. alicict of the orig. ed. See No. 11. 13. T. u. swain'-sOn-i. To William Swninson, the zealous and accomplished English natu- ralist. This is T. swainsoni of the orig. ed. See No. 11. 1:: CHECK LIST OF NOMTII AMERICAN BIRDS. 25 R6a. la. inceptive vcrh iSl^m ^ ^ * cans, or siioiild ^^B to the lightest- wk ^^' •able, to resolve 1 •thograpliy the See Aiioilliiira, 14. he change, see 1 )oJsnian," and 15. 16. applied cxclu- was originally fled by him to y its continued 17. with reference H se is precisely ird usfiildhis in jacked Thrush H 1^- Illinois. See 1 19. ''M ^°- IH 21. Englisli natu- ^? 83. 14. Oroscoptes montanus (Towns.) Bd. b 255. c 7. R 10. Mountain Mocking-bird. 15. Mimus polyglottus (L.) Bole. B 253. c 8. R 11. Mocldng-bird. 16. Mimus carollnensis (L.) Gr. b 254. c 9. r 12. Cat-bird. 17. Haiporhynchus nifus (L.) Cab. B 201. c 10. R 13. Brown Thrush ; Thrasher. 18. Harporhynchus rufus longirostris (Lafr.) Coues. b 200. c lOa. r 13a. Texas Thrasher. 19. Harporhynchus curvirostris (Sw.) Cab. b 259. c — . r. 15. Curve-billed Thrasher. 20. Harporhynchus curvirostris palmeri Ridg. b — . c 11. r 15a. Bow-bllled Thrasher. 21. Harporhynchus bendirii Coues. b — . c iiw*. r Ua. Arizona Thrasher. 22. Harporhynchus cinereus Bd. b — . c 12. r 14. St. Lucas Thrasher. 0-r5-sc5p'-tgs [taccl mon-ta'-ntis. Gr. &poi, a mountain, irrr,,, a mimic; ff/ccUirr™, I mock, deride, jeer at. The orthography differs; authority may be found for either Oroscophs or Orcoscoples ; the former was originally written by Baird ; it is shortest: and we usually say orolo,;;/, orcyraph/, &c. — Lat. nwntanus, relating to' mons a mountain. ' Mi'-mfls fmeemus] p61-^glot'-tQs. Lat. mimus, Gr. /i?;uoi, a mimic. -Gr. tomJ^Awttoi, polyglot, from iroAui, many, yKuTra, tongue. M. c5.r8-lln-en'-sls. Lat. for Carolinian, of Carolina; Carohts, Charhs, h the modem Lat. form of Germ. Jtart, or tcrl, a peasant ; A. S. norl, Scot, carle, Eng. r/mrl. Cm;,linn IS by some derived from Charles IL of England; but Ribault. in 1502, built in Port Royal a fort he called a,nrr,,rn,t, and Laud„nni5re, who came to relieve Ribanlfs coh,n,sts .n IGW, one which he says, "je nommay la Caroline, en honneur de nostre prince le roy Charles [IX:., of France]." Har-pa-rhyn'-chfls [rh very strong ; rh as ^1 ru'-ffls. Gr. fip,,, a sickle : ^oy^o,, a beak ; ^..,bow-bdled. rhe former word is seen in harp,;, ,o called from its hooked beak. Some punsts w.U have the r doubled in this and all such cases, making r/arporrhy.ch.s ,■ bu he current of mo.iern usage has set too strongly against it to be stennned without liability of seemmg pedantic. - Lat. ^,^.,, rufous, reddish. "' beak."'^^''^^'"''''^ [loang-gi-roas-tris]. Lat. lo„.jus, long, roslrh, beaked, from rost,-uw, H. cur-vl-r(5s'-trls. Lat. curvus, curved ; and rostris. — Not in the orig. -d. H. c. pal'-m«r.i [sound tlie /]. Dedicated to one Edward Palmer. H. ben-di'-rl-i. To Capt. Charles Beudire. U. S. Army. H. cIn-er'.«.iJs. Lat. cinfreus, ashy, or ash-colored ; from cinis, genitive cinms, ashes. Gr. k6.^s, of same meaning, apparently from Kalu,, ndo,, I burn. Related English words are incinerate, cinder, &c. II -■ I i I* !i 26 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 23. Harporhynchus redivivus (Gamb.) Cab. b 266. c is. r i6. Caltfbrnlan Thrasher. 24. Harporhynchu!3 redivivus lecontii (Lawr.) Coues. b 257. c isa. r i6a. Yuma Thrasher, 25. Harporhynchus crissalis Henry, b 258. c 14. k 17. Crlssal Thrasher. 26. Saxicola cenanthe (L.) Bechst, b 157. c 15. r 21. (!e.) stone Chat; Wheat-ear. 27. Sialia sialis (L.) Hald. B I68. c 16. R 22. Eastern Blue-bird. 28. Sialia mexicana Sw. b 159. c 17. R 23. Western Blue-Tjird. 29. Sialia arctica Sw. B ico. c I8. R 24. Arctic Blue-bird. 30. Cinclus mexicanus Sw. b i64. c 19. r 19. Water Ouzel ; Dipper. 31. Cyanecula suecica (L.) Brm. b — . c — . r 20. (!a.) Blue-throated Redstart. 23. H. rfi-dl-vi'-vQs. Lat. redlricns, revived, from re-, red-, redi-, in sense of liack agnin, and vims, livinj?. Gaiiibel discovcrt'd in tills l)ird a long-lost species of an older autlior. 24. H. r. Ie-c6n'-tl-i. To Dr. Jolin L. Lc Conte, of I'liiladelpliia, tlie famous entomologist. 25. H. cris-sa'-lls. No sueli Latin word ; tliere is a verb criso or crisso, used of a certain motion of the liaunclies ; ciissiiiii is a technical word lately derived therefrom, signifying in ornithology the under tail-coverts, which in this bird are rod. Cf. Or. KpiaaSs, KtpaSi. 26. Sax-I'-c6-la oe-nan'-the (oo-ay-nanthe, as if way-nantlie|. Lat. saxicola, a rock-inhab- itant ; sarinii, a rock, and incola {in and co/o), an inliabitant. — Lat. viliJJora, and Gr. oiVo>'9jj, signify precisely the same thing : the bird is prettily named "flower of tlic vine : " Lat. vitis, the vine,. //oca, a flower. The Gr. olvivBii, whence Lat. ananlhe, is an uncertain bird mentioned by Aristotle and Pliny ; the name was definitely applied to this species in 1555. The word primarily relates to the grape, oKn, ns if the bird were one which frequented vineyards, or appeared with the flowering (Mos) of the vino. 27. St-51'-I-a sI'-ai-Ts. Gr. amKis, a bird, in " Ath. JWi F ; " from ir/dAoi/, saliva ; verb aia\i(u, I slaver, or make some sibilant noise. To call this Anacreon a sloliberer! 28. S. mex-T-ca'-nS. Latinized from Mexican. The country is called Mexico, Mejico, or Mchico, from Meritli, the Aztec god of war. 29. S. 3rc'-tT-c5. Lnt. arrtira, northern, arctic ; i. e., Gr. ApK-roi, a bear, apwrmdi, near the bear. bO. Cin'-clQs mSx-I-ca'-nOs. Gr. KiyKKot, Lat. Cinrhis, tlie name of a bird, by some supposed to be the European Cinclus aquaticus, by others a kind of Sandpiper ; KiyKMCi» is to wag the tail. — Lat. mexicamis, see No. 28. 31. Cj>-an-e'-cQ-15 suS'-cT-cS. Ci/aneciila is a diminutive substantive lately (perhaps not before Brisson, 1700) formed from the Lat. adjective cyaneus, Gr. Kvdvfos or Kvav6s, blue ; mean- ing, as wo might say, "bluet." Rnl^'cnla is a word similarly coined. —Lat. sKcorn or svrrira, Swedish ; Sweden having been called Suecia or Sceria. In that country the binl is said to be called " Cliarles's-bird," Carh-for/el, whence Avis Carolina of s..me of the treatises written in Latin. — " Redstart " is a corruption of SRotllflerj, meaning " redtail," Aud'jiulicllla and IVianicurus are among the translated book-names of the species. Not in the orig. ed. of the Check List. See Ibis, 1878, p. 422. Alaska. lilrSiS CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 27 16. , C 13a. R 16a. 32. Phylloscopus borealis (Bias.) Dress, b — . c 20. R 34. (!A.) Kennicott's Warbler. 33. Regulus calendula (L.) Licht. ^ I6I. c 21. R so. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 34. Regulus satrapa Licht. B 102. c 22. R 33. Golden-crested Kinglet. 35. Regulus satrapa olivaceus Bd. b — . c — . r 33a. (?) Western Golden-crested Kinglet. 36. Polioptila coerulea (L.) Scl. b 282. c 23. R 27. Blue-gray Gnat-catcher. 37. Polioptila melanura Lawr. b 284. c 24. r 29. Black-capped Gnat-catclicr. 38. Polioptila plumbea Bd. b 283. c 25. r 28. Plumbeous Gnat-catcher. 39. Chamsea fasciata Gamb. B 274. c 20. R 35. Wren-tit. 40. Lophophanes bicolor (L.) Bp. b 285. c 27. R 36. Tufted Titmouse. ' back ngnin, and ilder author. 1U8 entomologist, iscd of a certain •efroni, siniiifyin); r. (cpi(T(rrfs, Kipa6i. ula, a rock-inhiib- •iliflom, and Or. ■or of tlie vine : " ', is an uncertain ■d to tliis species were one wliicli a ; verb (ri&A/C'"> er! Icxico, Mfjlco, or Is, near the bear. ly gome supposed ; KiyKKlCu) is to erhaps not before av6s, blue ; nieaii- — Lot. siiccira or country the bird J of si.nie of the ?aning " rcdtail," le species, ika. 32. Phyl-l5'-sc8-pQs b6r-e-a'-lls. Gr. ', i ! we instinctively incline to the latter, both as throwing the stress of voice on the radical Byllable, instead of on the connecting vowel, and as the a in -phunes represents two vowels, ai or «' as in phenomenon, phirnoiintis, a mountain. ;r of the region. 50. Panis rufescens Towns, b 2.■, a needle ; from ncpr, sharp, tir. axis, a point ; compare aKwy, aKfuri, (txpos, &c., English acme, acropolis, acer- bity, acrimony, and numberless words in many languages, from ^(i^-. 67, 58 80 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. !| lit :i! I 69. Sitta canadensis L. b 279. c. 39. r tf2. Red-bellied Nut-hatch. 60. Sitta pusilla Lath, b 280. c. 40. r cs. Browu-beaded Nut-hatch. 61. Sitta pygmaea Vig. b 28I. C4i. rm. Pygmy Nut-hatch. 62. Certhia familiaris L. b 275. c 42. r 55. Brown Creeper. 63. Campylorhynchns brunneicapiUus (Lafr.) Gr. b 202. c 43. r B6. Browu-headed Cactus Wren. 64. Campylorhynchus aflanis Bd. b — . c 44. r 57. St. Lucas Cactus Wren. 65. Salpinctes obsoletus (Say) Cab. b 204. c 45. r ss. liock Wren. 66. Catherpes mexicanus (Sw.) Bd. b 203. c — . r 59. (!M) Caiion Wren. 59. 60. 61. S 63. 63. 64. 65. 66. S. c5-nad-gn'-sls. Latinized from Canadian. — Nuthatch is nut-liatcher or nut-hacker (Fr. hacher, Swed. hticku), tlie bird tliat haclcs, pecks, nuts; also called nut-jobber, to /o6 being to peck, or tlirust at. S. pQ-sil'-ia [puceellah, not pewzillerj. Lat. pusillim, petty, puerile ; directly formed from putr, pusus, or ptisiu (Gr. jrojs), a boy ; here and connnonly used simply as signifying small. The Sanskrit root reappears in endless forms of kindred meaning, pyg-mae'-a. Gr. Truyni), the fist ; hence irvyfiaws, Lat. pyijtmtus, a pygmy, fistling, or tom-lhumb. As a measure of length, from elbow to clenciied list, a itvyn-h was about 104 inches ; the original Pygmies were a race of African dwarfs at war with the Cranes ; pi/ymiLits came afterward to mean any thing pygmy, dwarfed, and is here ai)plicd to a very small nut-hatch. Compare Machetes pmjmij; No. (KO. Cer'-thI-5 f5m-ll-l-a'-rls. Gr. Kfpdios, Lat. cirlliius, become later certhia. The name occurs in Aristotle, who apparently uses it for this very species, which he also calls Kvtvo\6yos, rtiipoliHjHs ; that is to say, a gatlierer of insects ; Kvltft, a bug, and \tyu, I col- lect. — JM. familian's, familiar, domestic, hence common; J'amilia, or older_/awii/ias, the family, the household. Cam-pJ>-16-rhyn'-chQs brun-nei-cSp-Il'-liSs [broonaycapecUus]. Gr. KoyuTriJAos, bent, from KdfxvTw, I bond ; and pvyxos (rhynclius), beak. — Lat. bniimciis, brown ; capillus, hair. The adjective brunneus is post-classic, Latinized from It. hnino, ¥r. Imiii, Germ, braui: ; A. S. hi/rnan, to burn ; related are hrami, brunt, and many similar words, among them brant ; see licrniihi, No. TOO. C. af-fin'-!s laffeon'is], Lat. njfinls, i. c, ad and Jinis, at the end of, hence bordering on, neighboring ; here in tin- sense of related to, resembling, having nj/niilij with. No. 03. Sal-pinc'-tes ob-sa-le'-tfls. Gr. craAiri7«T^i, a trumpeter, becoming in Latin salpinctes, from (rrfAiri7{ (salpig.\== salpinx), a trumpet ; in allusion to the bird's loud, ringing song. — Lat. obsoletus, unaccustomed, from oh, against, and soleo, I am wont ; hence obsolete, in sense of effaced, all the colors of the bird being dull. — Wren is A. S. verenna. C5th-Sr'-p5s mSx-I-ca'-nQs. Gr. KafltpTr^i, a creeper; KaBipvw, I creep down, from KarA, down, iind tpiru, I creep, crawl. The stem of the word is seen in herpes, the disease which creeps over the skin ; herpetoXoify , the science of creeping things, reptiles ; repto or rcpo, I creep, in Latin, siniply altered from fpir«. — Lat. mexicanus, see No. 28. CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. $1 67. Catherpes mexican as conspersus Ridg. b — . c 46. r 59a. Speckled Caiion Wren. 68. Thryothorus ludovicianus (Gra.) Bp. b 2(55. r 47. r co. Carolina Wren. 69. Thryothorus ludovicianus miamiensis Ridg. u — . — . r go6. Floridan Wren. 70. Thryothorus ludovicianus berlandieri (Couch) Coues. b 2(jc. c 47a. r coa. Texan Wren. 71. Thryothorus bewicki (And.) Bp. b 207. c 48. r 61. Bewick's Wren. 72. Thryothorus bewicki leucogaster Bd. b — . c 48a. r 6I6. Wiiite-bellied Wren. 73. Thryothorus bevAcki spilurus (Vig.) Bd. b — . C486. R6ia. (?) Speckled-tailed Wren. 74. Troglodytes domesticus (Bartr.) Couea. B 270, 272. c 49. R C3. House Wren. 75. Troglodytes domesticus parkmani (Aud.) Coues. B271. C49a. R63o. Western House Wren. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 67. C m. con-sp5r'-sQs. Lat. conspersus, speckled ; perfect participle of cnnsperrjo, from con and s/;«)Y/o (Gr. vtrdpu), I strew, scatter, sprinkle ; whence English nimrse, scattered, and many other words, as disperse, aspersion. — The Span, canon, brutalized as Eng. canyon, is constantly used in the West for rocky gorge or mountain-pass. Thry-8-tho'-rQs lu-do-vI-cI-a'-nQs. Or. epiov, a reed, rush, and Oovpos, a leaping, spring- ing, from {eSpa,), 0ptiaK(o, I run or rush tiirougli. The penult is marked long, as equiv.a- lent to Gr. oO. — Lat. Liuloviciana, Louisiana, of or relating to rMloriciis, Louis (XIV., of France). The old Territory was vastly more extensive than the present State is. T. 1. mI-5-mI-en'-sIs. LaHnizcd from the name of the Miami river in Florida. T. 1. b6r-15n'-dl-er-i. To Dr. Louis Berlandier, a naturalist, sometime resident in Mexico. T. be'-wTck-i. To Thomas Bewick, " the father of wood-engraving." T. b. Ieu-c6-gas'-ter [lewco-|. Gr. \fv,c6s, white, and yaariip, stomach, belly; whence F^nglish gastric, gastronomy. 73. T. b. spll-u'-rfls. Gr. o-jr/Aor, spotted ; oSpa, tail. 74. Trog-W'-dy-tes [-tace] dem-es'-tl-cQs. Gr. rpwyXoUrvs, a cave-dweller, from Tpd,y\v, a cave (literally, a hole iiiiule l.y gnawing — Tpci7a., I gnaw), and Sirvs, .an inhabitant, from Suva, or Uu, I go in or inider. The TpwyhMrat or Troqiod ijhe were a cave-dwelling people of ^Ethiopia. The name was later applied to a kind of wren. — Lat. domesticus, domestic, from domns,a. house. — The specific name f,7'V/»». applied by Yieillot to this bird, is the Gr. ar)h'i '''c rainy, tempestuous, or winter season ; Skr. Iiiina, snow. We oftener use the y than the i, but the latter is correct. 77. A. t. pa-cl'-ft-ctis. Lat. /)aci/j''"s, pacific, peaceful, literally peace-making, from pax, geni- tive pads, peace, anHfacio, I make, do. The application i.s to the occurrence of the bird on the west coast of the United States. Not in the orig. ed. of the Check List. (Baird, Rev. Am. B., i, 1804, p. 145.) 78. A. t. I-l3s-cSn'-sTs. Alascensis, relating to Alaska. 79. Tel-m5-t6'-dy-tes pal-us'-trls. Gr. tjA^o, genitive xeA^aToj, a marsh or swamp; SiJrris, an inhabitant, from Sva>, I go in or under. — Lat. palustris, adjective from palus, a marsh, whenf'o palustrine, like lacustrine from lams, marine from mare. 80. T. p. pSl-u-dl'-cJhlS. Lat. pains, genitive paludis, a marsh; and {in)cola, an inhabitant. See No. 79. Not in the orig. ed. of tlie Check List. (Baird, Rev. Am. B., i, 1864, p. 148.) 81. Cis-t6-th5'-rtSs stel-la'-rls. Gr. Kiaros. a shrub, an golden ; that is, of a golden color, from XP*>'^*! 8<>I<^ i and Aoi;u. There is some question whether the yellow wagtail of Alaska be the true lljlavns. 83. An'-thus pra-ten'-sls. Lat. nnlhis, Gr. Scfloi, a kind of bird. — Lat. prtttrnsit, adjective from pratiim, a meadow. For authiis, compare itnanihe = vilijlora, under Sarirohi, No. 2(i. This is North Aniericnii as found in Greenland, and said to also occur in Alaska. 89. A. lu-do-vI-cI-a'-nOs. Lat. f.ndorlnis, nom. prop. See Thripthonis, No. 08. ripit, little iised in this country, though always said for these birds in Kngland, is an onomatopench la>ch„pm,e, English u-a,,U,iL It was originally 1«77 "'ooT «r"',"""""'^ •"'"" '"■'"'"" •'''''■"'■'"• <^^'^^ ^""^'«> «""■ ^'"«"" <^l»l'. ii. •'"• i , ; • ''■,'.' , '-' ""'''''' *'"' ' '""« "" "-epresenting (>. ». - Lat. anvum, gold, an.l capiHus, hair : golden-haired. (See Coues, ibid., p. ;J0.) S.. also l.ophaphau.s, No. 42. and PaL, No. 44. S. nag-vI-iSs. Lat. mrvus, a birth-mark, nevus, or spot ; whence mvvius, so marked or in general, spotted in any way. . . '" S. n. na-t5'-bl-lls. I,at. mtahilis, notable, from uota, a note, and the ferniinalion -W,\- Not m the orig. ed. of the Che-'k List. Later described by It. Ridgway, from Grin- nell s .M.S., m IV. Xat. Mus., ii. 1880, p. 12. Very doubtful. S. mo-ta-cil'-ia. See Mtytarilla, No. 80. Op-5r-5r'-nIs S'-gl-lIs. Gr. i^uipa. the autumn, ami «>„„, a bird ; in allusion to the abun- plie.l to the root of the verb, both in Latin and Knglish. 140. O. f5r-m8'-s5. Lat.. /;.■,»<«,,, beautiful ; primitively, in the sen.se of shapely, well-formed. m good or full proportion; fornu,, form. So said of Juno, in whose "lofty mind" renuimed ;,«/„:,„,« /'„,/,//,, ^pnUvque injuria Jhnmr, h. e., of her slighted beauta. Verg., 136. 137. 138. 139. n mw 40 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. i I'l,.! 11 141. Geothlypis trichas (L.) Cab. b no. c 97. R 122. Maryland Yellow-throat. 142. Geothlypis Philadelphia (Wils.) Bd. B 172. c 98. R 120. Mourning Warbler. 143. Geothlypis macgillivrayi (And.) Bd. b 173. c 99. r 121. Miu-gilllvray's Warbler. 144. loteria virens (L.) Bd. b i76. c 100. r 123. Yellow-breasted Chat. 145. Icteria virens longicauda (Lawr.) Coues. b 177. c looa. r i23a. Long-tailed Chat. 146. Myiodioctes mitratus (Gm.) And. B 211. c 101. R 124. Hooded Flycatching Warbler, 141 . Ge-5th'-ly-pls trlch'-5s. Gr. 7^ or yfa, the cartli, and QKuiris, " a proper name." — Gr. Spi'J, genitive rpix^s, hair; there is also the actual word rpixoi, for some kind of a thrush, occurring in Aristotle. Some take tlie rptxas of Aristotle to be the bird named by Linnwus Tardus pilaris, i. e., the hairy thrusii ; but Sundevall reasonably identifies it with T. inusiciis. Of course it had originally nothing to do with the present species, to which Linnaeus applied the term triclias in 17G0. — Cabanis coined (Jiothli/pis in 1847, simply explaining QKvirls as a "proper name." The meaning of the term is obscure, but we think it may be explained, considering that eKviris is the same as Bpaviris, wiiicli latter occurs in Aristotle as the name of some conirostral granivorous bird never satis- factorily identified. Sundevall says Bpaviris „unirbc ill cinii^cn codices &\virls (Thlypis) gcfrfnicbcn" ; and the identity of the two words appears to be established, seeing that 6\d€ia, <^i\aZ(Ky the sight of which jaundiced patients were fancied to be cured. The name was in 1700 by Brisson applied to the American orioles as a generic term, Tclenis ; and by Vieillot later, in the form Ideria, to the present genus. — Lat. virens, present parti- ciple of i-i'iTo, I grow green. 145. I. V, lon-gl-caud'-5 [-cowda]. Lat. lonrjus, long, and caudn, tail. 146. Myi-fi-dl-5c'-t5s mi-tra'-tfls. Gr. fivia, a fly, and Skukttjj, a pursuer. — Lat. tnilratiis, wearing a turban ; Gr. /uiVpo. a turban or other head-dress, cf. niT6a>, 1 weave. The word is sometimes six-syllabled, but properly reducible to five, the jjJ, from Gr. v7, being slurred ; the sound is that of mwee-, not ml- or me-. CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 41 147. 148. 149. 150. Ja. i 1 -t 151. 1 152. " — Gr. epi'l, \| of a tlirusli. 153. J named by identifies it t species, to 147. y/>/s in 1847, is obscure. 148. oujrii, wliich never satis- 149. 150. is (Tlilypis) seeing tliat avo), whence 1 considered usies, airopo- adly cJiosen -, signifying ve, aS(\6i, 151. t is, liaving f a city, and ticrna. Tlie contend for 152. of much of r^at. irtrnis ; 153. en oriole of ■ Tlic name fcleriis ; and escnt parti- - fit. mlfmtiis, i cave. Tlie ,j jir. vT, being Jm Myiodioctes pusillus (Wils.) Bp. b 213. c 102. r 125. Green Black-capped Flycatching Warbler. Myiodioctes pusillus pileolatus (Pall.) Ridg. b — . c i02a. R I25a. Pacific Black-capped Flycatching Warbler. Myiodioctes canadensis (L.) Aud. b 214, 215. c 103. r 127. Canadian Flycatching Warbler. Cardellina rubrifrons (Gir.) Scl. b — . c — . R 131. Red-fronted Flycatching Warbler. Setophaga picta Sw. B218. c io5. R 129. Painted Flycatching Warbler. Setophaga ruticilla (L.) Sw. b 217. c 104. R 128. American Redstart. Certhiola bahamensis Reich. Bahanian Honey Creeper. B 301. C 106. R 159. (!W. I.) M. piS-sil'-lCSs. See Sitta, No. 60. M. p. pi-lS-6-la'-t0s. Lat. pileuin or pilcolum, Gr. vTKos, a kind of cap, a skull-cap ; pileo- lulus, capped. In late days, pileum has become a technical word in ornithology, meaning tlie top of the head. M. can-5-den'-sIs. Latinized from Canada, with the termination -ensis. Canada is said to be the Iroquois word Kanata, a village or collection of huts. Car-d5l-ir-n5 rtib-ri-frons. Apparently an arbitrary variation from Lat. cardnelis, a kind of finch, from airdmis, a thistle. — Lat. mh,r, red, and./rons, the forehead. The pro- nunciation of rtihrijhms is in question; everybody says roo'lrJifrOiix ; as it is not a classic word, we can only mark it by analogy with such words as ruhrh-.o, &c. But see above, Leiidricm, No. 120, in favor of nih'iyroiis, as the / here comes before./'and a liquid. Not in the orig. ed. of the List ; since discovered by II. W. Ilenshaw in New Me-xico. Sg-td'-ph5-g5 pic'-ta. Gr. <7^)i, genitive o-rjTdj, an insect ; and faytw, to cat. The con- necting vowel need not lengthen before p/i, as this is only equivalent in force tof.— Lat. pktiis, painted, pictured, here in the sense of brightly or highly colored ; yj%o, I paint, depict. S. rfit-I-cil'-ia. Lat. ri/(//M,s-, reddish ; for the rest see Moturllht, Xo.80. The word is exactly equal to redstart, which is Anglicized from the Germ, gfcthftcit or iKot(}|lcrj, all three words meaning simply redtail. Cer-thl'-8-15 ba-h5-men'-sls. Crrthhht is a coined diminutive of Crrthhi, which see, No. 02 ; we usually hear it accented on a long penult, which is certainly vicious.— Ihltti meiisls is Latinized from Bahama. In the first ed. of the Check List, this species stands as Cfawohi, corrected in the Appendix. If we were *o use the latter, it would hv JlSn'tld,' not Jldn oh. Cni/iioh is correctly formed as a diminutive from Cnt/d,i. like linmla from llnrn ■ for the general rule, however, in cases when the stem ends in a consonant, we may recall the exquisite lines' attributed to the death-bed of Hadrian ; — Animula vagula blandula, Ilospes comesque corporis, Qua." nunc ahibis in loca, Pallidula riglda nudida, Nee, ut soles, dabis jocos ? !iii r 42 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 164. Pyranga rubra (L.) V. b 220. c 107. R ici. Scarlet Tanager. 165. Pyranga aestiva (L.) V. b 221. c 108. u i64. Summer Tanager. 166. Pyranga aestiva cooperi (Ridg.) Coues. b — . c losa. r i64a. Cooper's Tanager. 167. Pyranga hepatica Sw. b 222. c 109. r lea. Hepatic Tanager. 158. Pyranga ludoviciana (Wils.) Bp. b 223. c 110. r ig3. Louisiana Tanager. 159. Hirundo erythrogastra horreorum (Bartr.) Coues. B226. c 111. r 154. Barn Swallow. 160. Iridoprocne bicolor (V.) Coues. b 227. c 112. r 155. Wliite-belUed Swallow. 161. Tachycineta thalassina (Sw.) Cab. B 228. C113. R 156. Violet-green Swallow. 164. Py-ran'-g5 rfib'-rS. The word Pyranga has a classic twang, as if formed in part from the Gr. TTvp, fire ; but it is a barbarous word, talten from some Soutli American dialect. Several similar combinations of letters occur in Marcgravc. Vieillot wrote it Piranqa in 1807, and Pyraiu/a in 181(3. The latter lias come into general use. — The English tanwjer is simply altered from the South American Uwaijra or tawjnra, both of whi(;h words occur in the older authors, the latter being in general use until Linna}us, perhaps by a misprint, gave the former currency. aes-ti'-v5. See Dendracn, No. 111. 155. 156. 157. 158. 159. P. a. coop'-6r-i. To Dr. J. G. Cooper, of California. P. hg-pat'-i-ca. Gr. ffirap, genitive Ifitaros, the liver, or Lat. hepnr, hepati's, the same ; wlicnce T]iraTiK6s or hepulicus, the direct adjective. The allusion is to the liver-colored plumage. P. Iu-d8-vl-cl-a'-n5. See Thri/othonts, No. 68. HIr-un'-do 6r-y-thr8-g3s'-tr5 h5r-r6-5'-rQm. Lat. hlnmdo, a swallow, from the Gr. XcAiSuv, of same meaning. — CJr. fpv8p6s, red or ruddy, and yaa-T-np, the belly. — Lat. fioirciim, a barn, in the genitive plural. (On the etymology of liintmh, and various other, including the Lnglish, names of swallow see Birds Col. Vail., i, 1878, p. 300.) 160. Ir-I-d5-proc'-n5 bl'-cfll-fir. Gr.'Ipu, genitive 'IpiSoi, Lat. /r/.s-, /ridis, Iris, the messenger of the gods ; also the rainbow ; from flpw or ipd, to anno\ince. The allusion is to the sheen of the i)lumage. Gr. Up6Kvri, or Lat. Procne or Prnrjne, a proper name, the daughter of Pandion, fabled to have been transformed into a swallow. — Lat. Wco/or, two-colored. 161. Tach-y-cln-e -ta thSl-as'-sT-n5. Gr. toxwch'Itos, moving rapidly, i.e., a swift runner; raxis, swift (flf'o), to run); Kivr)riip, from Ktviu, to move. — Gr, SaXi(Tciiii(i, a feather. Both words mean sub- stantially the same thing, having reference to the peculiar structure of the outer web of the first primary. 165. Prog'-ne sub'-Is. Lat. Prmpic ; see Tridnpromo, No. 100. — Lat. suhis, a word not known except as applied by I'liiiy to a bird said to break eagles' eggs ; application in this case unknown. 166. Am'-pfi-lls gar'-rfl-lQs. Or. afiveKis, or &nwf\os, the grapevine; also, a small bird wliich fre(iuented vineyards, l)y some conjectured to be the present species ; ajUTTfAioii/ also occurs as the name of a bird. — Lat. (idrniliis, garrulous, loquacious, from i/nrrio, I chatter (Gr. yripia) or yapvu, I speak, yyjpus or yiipvs, voice) ; also, as substantive, a jaybird, wlii'il' is the implication in this case. 167. A. ced-ro'-rQm. Lat. crrfrHs, genitive plural rcrfiwiim, the cedar ; Gr. ice'Spos. 168. PhS-i-na-pep'-la nTt'-ens. Dr. Sclater says (Ibis, 1879, p. 223) that he formed the word from tpattvds, shining, and that it should be written as above, as lie originally did. This, however, is merely a poetic f'lrm, from (pafivw, itself poetic for (paivai. It would appear to be most naturally written PhdiwpipJa, like phirunmrnnii, phblance (.«„. I see). There is a difference in the o t og aphy w U "tricce'/t 1r'' 'r r''"' "-""•""""'-■• «"J P~-ed in sLxs^Tl b s' With the accent on the penult. But if this spelling is used, it should be ercuLoUe^ I ■: t " I 4G CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 1S9. Hesperophoua vespertina (Coop.) Bp. b 303. c lac. p Kvening aiviu, I speak; <^ou, <>»)/*/, related to (^aivoi, &c. — Lat. Vcsjxrtiitnn, pertaining to the evening, V(S]nrus being the same as llisperns. — The genus-name is universally written Ilesperi- plioim, as lJonai)arte originally spelled it, but the above is certainly correct, as it is pure Greek for what 1 "ts/ic/ /,6pos {irvp, (pfpai) the fire-bearer, an epithet of Trometheus. — The quantity of the penult is in question ; we usually hear carjmda'-cus in this country; but carpS'nlacus ia preferable, C. cas'-sln-l. To John Cassin. 195, 196 C. fron-ta'-lls. liiii.frotitaliSf relating to tlie forehead ; //ons, forehead, front. 1 1 ! 48 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 197. Carpodacus frontalis rhodocolpus (Cab.) Ridg. b — . c i4ia. u i70a. Rose-breasted Finch. 198. Loxia leucoptera Gm. b aio. c 142. r 173. Wblte-wlnged Crossbill. 199. Loxia curvirostra americana (Wils.) Coues. b ois. c 143. r 172. Common American Crossbill. 200. Loxia curvirostra mexicana (Strickl.) Coues. b — . c i43o. r 172a. Mexican Crossbill. 201. Leucosticte atrata Ridg. b — . c — . r 170. Rldgway^s Rosy Fincb. 202. Leucosticte australis Allen, b — . c — . r 177. Allen's Rosy Finch. 203. Leucosticte tephrocotis Sw. b 322. c 144. r 175. Swainson's Rosy Finch. 204. Leucosticte tephrocotis litoralis (Bd.) Coues. B — . c — R nsa. Baird's Rosy Finch. 197. C. f. rh6-d6-c5l'-pfis. Gr. p6Sov, the rose, and K6\iros, the breast; in allusion to tlie rose- red color of that part. The form €./. hnmonhous, given in the orig. ed. of the Check List, is the Mexican race ; the above should replace No. 141a. 198. Lox'-I-5 leQ-c5p'-te-rS. Gr. Aortas, an epithet of Apollo, whose oracles were sometimes obscure or equivocal; from Aofdr, oblique, devious, deviating from a straiglit line; very pertinent to the Crossbill. — Ur. KivK6s, wiiite, and irrtp6v, wing. 199. L. cQr-vT-r5s'-tr5. Lat. chh-hs, curved ; and i-os/<'Tpit, Imving a Roldcn hpa'l-dross or girdlp ; xpvaioi, gohk'ii, anil ju/rpo, a iiiitrt'. 'i'liiTc arc otliiT forms of tliu word, varyiiiy in tlio vowels, as XpvffofiiTpris and xp"<'°f'V'''pt*- '^'I>l' latter, which oeutirs in Aristutk-, Is translatitl (iiiricillis liy (iaza; a^^ ISundwall runiarks, iK'i^hti'nin^ thi> ])robaliility that it is tlii< name word altiii;ti, l.oiiho'jihiinrs, &e. The gender of the many coined words ending in -phanes is practically in question among ornithologists ; we make them masculine. CSn-trfi'-ph5-nSs lap-p6n'-I-cus. Or. nivrpov, a prick, nail, claw, &c., from KfVTf'w, I prick or goad. Tiie reference, as in the case of Pleclrojihitncs, is to the long hind claw. See Plectrophanes. — Lat. lponicu3, pertaining to Lapland, formerly Lapponia. C. pic'-tiSs. Lat. pictus, painted, from pinijo, I paint or ornament; in allusion to the variegated colors. C. or-na'-tiis. Lat. ornatus, adorned, decorated, from onto, I ornament. Rhyn-ch6'-ph5-n6s mSc-c6wn'-i. Gr. fivyxos, snout, muzzle, beak, and aivti> ; in allu- sion to the large bill. See Plectrophanes. — To Capt. J. P. McCown, then of the U. S. Army. Pas-sEr'-cQ-ltSs baird'-i. Lat. passerculus, a little sparrow; diminutive of passer. — To Spencer F. Baird, long time the leader in North American ornithology. Centronijx ochrocephalus, No. 1&7 bis of the first ed., is this species in fall plumage. \ :1 m ' ' ''I : ij^ i i i : ; i ! (■, :■ .., i| 52 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 225. Passerculus princeps Mayn. b — . c 158. R 192. Ipswich Savanna Sparrow. 226. Passerculus sandvicensis (Gm.) Bd. b 333. c i696. R 193. Sandwich Savanna Sparrow. 227. Passerculus sandvicensis savana (Wils.) Ridg B332. c 159. r i93a. Common Savanna Sparrow. 228. Passerculus sandvicensis anthinus (Bp.) Coues. B334. ci59a. r 194. Pipit Savanna Sparrow. 229. Passerculus sandvicensis alaudinus (Bp.) Ridg. b 335. c — . R 1936. Larli Savanna Sparrow. 230. Passerculus rostratus (Cass.) Bd. B 336. c ico. R 196. Bealced Savanna Sparrow. 231. Passerculus guttatus Lawr. B — . c icoa. r 195. St. Lucas Savanna Sparrow. 232. PooBcetes gramineus (Gm.) Bd. B 337. c ici. R 197. Bay-winged Bunting; Grass Finch. 233. Pocecetes gramineus confinis Bd. b — . c 16I0. r 197«. Western Grass Finch. 234. Coturniculus passerinus (Wils.) Bp. r 338. c 162. R 198. Yvllow-winged Sparrow. J ij, 'V'l m V i » 225. P. prin'-cEps. Lat. princeps, first, principal ; from primus, first, and -ceps. 226. P. sand-vl-cen'-sls. Nauieu after Sandwich Island, one of tlio Kurile or Aleutian Archi- pelago. 227. P. s. s5-va'-na. Properly Span, sahana or sarana, anglicized savanna or savannah, a meadow. As a quasi-Latin word, it should have but one n, as in the Spanisli. Tlie quantity of the penult is marked by the general rule for accentuation in Spanish, that words ending in a vowel have the accent on the penult. 228. P. s. an-thi'-ni5s. Arbitrarily formed from anthus, a i)ipit, which see, No. 89. 229. P. s. ai-aud-i'-n2s. Arbitrarily formed from Lat. alauda, a. lark ; this from the Celtic at, high, and and, song. Not in the orig. cd., as then not recognized as valid. 230. P. rSs-tra'-ttSa. Lat. rostratus, beaked, i. c, having a large beak ; rostrum, a beak ; this from rndo, to gnaw, corrode, &c. 231. P. gut-ta'-ti5s. Lat. ipttiatus, spotted, speckled; from gutta, a drop; as if marked with droppings. 232. Pa-o5'-c6-tSs gra-mln'-g-Qs. Gr. irda, rota, wiv, ""O'l. grass, herbage; and oiHfrris, an inhabitant; from oIkos, a dwelling. The ortliograpliy of this word has been unsettled: it was first written Poncirtes by Baird in 1858, and has since been variously spelled. The stenj of tlie first word is to, giving /io-; and oiKtrris becomes in Latin trceles ; the above form seems eligible, as first emended by Sclater in 1859. It may be suscept'ble, but not preferably, of further contraction into Pacctes. — Lat. rjramiiieus, grassy fgura- tivcly applied to a bird that lives much in the grass ; (jramen, grass. 233. P g. cJSn-fi'-nls. Lat. coji/ihis, like (///ww, allied to, &c.; ron, with, and ^hw, the boundary, limit, edge, or end of a tiling. 234. Ca-tur-nl'-ctS-lfis pas-sSr-i'-nils. Arbitrary diminutive of coturnii, a. quail; said to be so called from the resemblance of the sound of its voice to tiio sound of the word. — Passerinus, an arbitrary adjective from iiasscr, a sparrow ; sparrowlike. I' ill CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 53 235. Cotumiculus passeriims perpallidus Ridg. b — . c i62a, r losa. Bleached Yellow-winged Sparrow. 236. Cotumiculus henslowi (Aud.) Bp. B 339. c 163. R 199. Ilenslow's Sparrow. 237. Cotumiculus lecontii (Aud.) Bp. B 340. c 164. R 200. Le Conte's Sparrow. 238. Ammodramus maritimus (Wils.) Sw. b 342. c los. r 202. Seaside Fincb. 239. Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens Ritlg. n — . i(;5a. r 203. Floridan Seaside Fincli. 240. Ammodramus caudacutus (Wils.) Sw. B341. c igg. R201. Sliarp-tailed Fincli. 241. Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni Allen, b — . c — . R 20ia. Nelson's Sliarp-tailed Finob. 242. Melospiza lincolni (Aud.) Bd. b 3G8. c 107. R 234. Lincoln's Song Sparrow. 243. Melospiza palustris (Biirtr.) Bd. B 369. c 108. R 233. Swamp Song Sparrow. 244. Melospiza fasciata (Gin.) Scott, b 303. c 109. R 23i. Song Sparrow. 235. C. p. pEr-pal'-II-dfls. L.it. /jfj/ZiWHS, pallid, p.tlc, ami the intensive purticlc per. 236. C. hCn'-slow-i. To I'rof. J. S. Hinislow, of (."anibriilgc, i:ng. S37. C. le-c6n'-tl-i. To Dr. .Tolm L. Le Conte, of riiilailelpliia. 238. Am-ma'-drS-mQs m5r-U'-I-mfls. .r. fi/i/uos, saiul, sea-sand ; for the rest of the word, see under I'litcdlramus, Xo. 110. The name was originally written as above by Swainson, and we see no necessity of ehanging it to Aminodromus. It is eouuiionly accented on the penult. — Lat. iiKtrilinms, maritime ; iiKire, the sea. 239. A. m. nig-res'-cens. Lat. ii/i/ivscois, present participle of ui(jrcsco, I grow black; niycr, black. 240. A. caud-5-cu'-tfls (kowdakootus not eordak.^wtus]. Lat. cniidn, tail, and arutiis, acute, sharp ; urns, a pin or point, tir. 0(07 or oki'i, whence the Lat. verb aciio, of which aciitiis is the perfect participle. 241. A. c. nfil'-sfin-i. To K. W. N'l'lson, of Illinois, who discovered it near Chicago. Not in the orig. ed. Siiue described by Alien, I'r. Host. Soc. Nat. Hist., xvii, 1875, p. 0.1. 242. Mel-d-spi'-z5 lln'-c61-ni. Gr. /i»Aoi, a song, melody, and (rirl^a or er-niCn. som(> small bird ; from (Twii^w, I chirp. Not to be ('onfoimdi'il, us some writers have done, with (rwtCia!, a kind of hawk. The crwi^a of Aristotle is supposed to be Fn'mii/ln rnlilm. — To Robert Lincoln, sometime a companion of Audubon. — In strictness, the above generic name should be pronounced imlosprrdztili ; and the / in liiirohii be he .nl. 243. M. p51-Qs'-trIs. Lnt. pnWns, pertaining to a swautp; from /ki/im, a sw... •>. 244. M. fas-cl-a'-t5. Lat. /;i,<;rm/».«, striped ; /7i.L on both sides, an.l ,r^l(a. a fim^Ii ; in allusion to the dose relation of the genus to those r.i.out it. See }r,h,.ph„, Xo. 212. Lat. biUneala, two-lined ; l,s, twice, an.l linmtus, strijied ; linoa, a line : see Umiria, Xo. 207. This is the l\ms,,i:,i biUmaht of the first ed. of the Check List. A. ber-li. To J. G. Bell, of Xew York. A. b. nfiv-a-den'-sls. To the Territory of Nevada. It were better written nivadrmk,m i>alin, but IS directly from the Spanish adjective „rrnda, snowv, white as snow ; Lat. mrr».s snowy, from mx, ironitive, mris, snow. The Territory was named for the snow- capped peaks of its Sierras Xevadas. Jun^-co I pronounced yooncoj hl-fi-ma'-lls. Lat. ,/»»n,.,. a reed or rush ; cf. jnw,o, I join, .;»"r/,«, joined ; either, reeds growing densely together, or used as witlies to bind with 1 — For hlrumlis, see Amrthnm, Xo. 70. J. h. ar-k8n-L To Charles E. Aiken, of Colorado, its discoverer. This and several other connecting forms of Juno} (Xos. 204, 200, 207) are not in the orig. cd. of the Check List. ii lU I 56 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICA.: BIRDS. 263. Junco hiemalis oregonus (Towns.) Coues. b 352. c 175. r 218. Oregon Snowbird. 264. Junco hiemalis annectens (Bd.) Coues. b — . c — . r 219. Plnk-slded Snowbird. 265. Junco hiemalis caniceps (Woodh.) Coues. b 353. c 176. R 220. Gray-headed Snowbird. 266. Junco hiemalis dorsalis (Hcniy) Coues. b 351. c — . r 221. Red-backed Snowbird. 267. Junco hiemalis cinereus (Sw.) Coues. b 360. c — . r 222. Cinereous Snowbird. 268. Spizella monticola (Gm.) Bd. b 357. c 177. r 210. Tree Chipping Sparrow. 269. Spizella domestica (Bartr.) Coues. B 359. c 178. R 211. Chipping Sparrow; Hairbird. 270. Spizella domestica arizonae Coues. b — . c i78a. r 2iia. Arizona Chipping Sparrow. 271. Spizella agrestis (Bartr.) Coues. B 358. c 179. R 214. Field Chipping Sparrow. 272. Spizella pallida (Sw.) Bp. B 3G0. c I80. R 212. Clay-colored Chipping Sparrow. 263. J. h. ar-6'-ga-nQs. To the Territory of the Oregon. The name is much in dispute; by some derived from the name of a plant (onV/njiMw) growing tiiere. It is probably, how- ever, tlie Algonkiu name of the " great river," the Columbia. 264. J. h. an-n5c'-t5ns. Present participle of aimecto, I join together, connect, annex ; ad, to, and necto, I fasten, join. The bird is very closely related to several others. 265. J. h. c3'-nl-ceps. Lat. canus, hoary, grayisli white, and -ceps, the termination indicating head, from k«(/)oAi^. 266. J. h. dSr-sa'-lIs. Lat. dorsum, the back, whence the late Latin adjective, dorsalis. 267. J. h. cIn-6r'-6-fis. Lat. cinpreH.s, ashy (-colored) ; ci'n/s, ash. The true Mexican cinereus has been found in the United States (Arizona) since the orig. ed. of the Check List appeared. 268. Spiz-el'-lS [pronounced speedzaylla] m5n-tl'-c6-15. An arbitrary diminutive, in Latin form, from Gr. (Tiri^a, a finch. — Lat. monticola, a mountain-dweller, from mons, genitive monlis, a mountain, and colo, I dwell, ^fons is from a root min, wlionco cmineo, for exam- ple, I project ; eminxnt, Imminent, prominent, and also the deponent verb minor, to threaten, whence minatenj, &c., are all allied. 269. S. d0m-es'-tl-c5. Lat. domestica, from domus, a house. This is S. .lociaiis of the orig. ed. of the Check List. 270. S. d. 5-rI-z5'-na5. To the Territory of Arizona See Pe.uceea, No. 253. 271. S. ag-rSs-tl3. Lat. oi;resh>r, of changing or versatile colors, many-colored, party-col- ored ; vrrso, I turn about, change, am occupied with, versed in, &c. ; color, color. P. 5-moe'-na [ahmwaynah]. Lat. amwna, delightful, charming, dressy. P. cy-Sn'-e-S. Lat eyaneus, Gr. Kudvfos or Kvavot, dark blue. Sper-mfl'-phl-lS m8re-let'-i. Gr. o-Trc'p/ua, genitive (rirfpfiaros, a, seed ; from imtpai, equal to the Lat. spanp, I sow seed: and os, fiery-red, and Kollas; in wliicli event, it siiould be written pijrrhutoxM. — Lat. siima- tiis, bent, bowed, curved, as the bill of the bird is; from siniio, the verb; slims, the noun, a curve, bending, bay. 290. Car-dln-a'-lls vlr-gln-l-a'-n5. Lat. cardinalis, pertaining to a door-hinge : canlo, genitive cardiiils, a door-hinge ; hence, that upon wliicli something turns or depends ; as, cardinal points of the compass ; hence, any important thing or person ; applied with obvious sig- nification to the chief officials of the I'ope. These ecclesiastical dignitaries wear red ; hence the phrase "cardinal-red." The term is ajjplied to the bird as descriptive of its rich red color. As a Latin word, cardinalis is only an adjective; used substantively, its gender is either masculine or feminine. We take the latter, because most words ending in IS- are feminine. — Lat. virginiana, of Virginia, euphemistically named for Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII. 300. C. V. ig'-n6-S. Lat. igneus, fiery, flaming ; said of color as well as of other properties ; iijnis, fire. 301. Pi'-pH-S 6-rjrth-r8ph-th51'-miSs. Vieillot, in forming tlie word, wrote both pipilo and pipillo. It is a Latin verb, meaning, like/)//)/o, I pip, peep, chirp. Notice the accentua- tion and quantity of the vowels. — Gr. 4pv0p6s, red or reddish; ipdBw, I redden ; oipOaX- Ii6s, the eye, from iirroiiai, a verb obsolete in the present, or opiui, I see ; we find both words in "ophthalmic," " optic." The species is red-eyed. — The curious Knglish words " towhee " and " chewink " are onomatopecic : that is, coined to imitate the sound of the bird's voice. P. e. 51'-l6n-i. To Joel Asaph Allen, of Cambridge, Mass., one of the leading naturalists of the United States. P. m5-cQl-5'-tfls 6r-6-g5'-niSs. Lat. winrH/a/us, spotted ; mncH/a, a spot. — To the Oregon River. Quantity of the penult in q\iestion, perhaps bettor ore'gdnus. The stock species, P. maculatus, is not North American. P. m. arc'-tl-c5. See Slalia, No. 20. P. m. m6-gSl'-fi-n"x. Gr. /itydKri (feminine of fityas), large, great, and 6vu^, Lat. oni/x, a nail, claw, talon. The word is connnonly accented on a long penult; a practice perhaps defensible on the ground that niegalS-Onyx = megalonyx. 302. 303. 304. 305. ft :. CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. CI 306. Pipilo fliscus mesoleucus (Bd.) Ridg. b 397. c 200. R 240. Brown Towhee Bunting; Cuiion Bunting. 307. Pipilo ftiscus albigula (Bd.) Coues. B — . c 20C0. r 240a. IVblte-throated Towheo Bunting. 308. Pipilo fiiscus crissalis (Vig.) Coues. B 396. c 2066. R 2406. Crlssal Towhee Bunting. 309. Pipilo aberti Bd. b 395. c 207. R 241. Abort's Towhee Bunting. 310. Pipilo Chlonirus (Towns.) Bd. B 398. C 208. R 239. Green-tailed Towlieo Bunting. 311. Embernagra rufovirgata Lawr. b 373. c 209. r 236. Green Finch. 312. Dolichonyx oryzivorus (L.) Sw. b 399. c 210. r 257. Bobolink; Reed-bird; Rice-bird. Mi 308. P. fus'-ciSs m£s-fi-leQ'-ciis. Lat./iMcis, fuscous, dark, dusky, likcyi/wis; both allied to Gr. optpds, of same meaning, from 6p(f>i ■f), night or darkness '. — Gr. fiiaoi, middle, \fvK6s, wliitc; in allusion to the color of the middle under parts. This word is derived from Afi/fTo-oi or yKaixKTw, I shine ; this from ay\aia, splendor, the name of one of the Muses. This is given as P. ftiscus in the orig. ed. ; but the bird of Arizona is said to be dis- tinguishable from the Mexican stock species. 307. P. f. ai-bl'-gfl-ia. [Not albii/cw'ler.] Lat. alhiis, white; gula, throat. This is one of num- berless cases where the termination of the word is in question. AUiigulu may be taken as a feminhie noun, and left in this form, whatever the gender of the word with which it is associated ; or it may be considered an adjective in -us, -a, -urn, and made masculine to agree with P./itsnis. There is ample authority and precedent for the latter course, which our taste disinclines us to take. Knglish affords a parallel latitude of construc- tion, as when we say indifferently "yellow-rump warbler "or "yellow-rumped warbler," " Carolina chickadee " or " Carolinian chickadee." A better form than either altn'i/ithis or albifjuhi would be (Mujiilmis. 303. P. f. cris-sa'-lls. Late Lat. nissalis, pertaining to the crissum, or under-tail coverts, which in this bird are highly colored. There arc no such classic words, thej- having been in- vented by llliger in 1811: but. there is a verb crisso, expressing a certain action of the parts. 309. P. 5'-bert-i. To Lieutenant .J. W. Abert, of the U. S. A n- , who discovered it. 310. P. chlo-ru'-riis. Gr. x^aipc^j, green, from x^fia, green grass; oZpa, tail. 311. Em-ber-na'-grS ru-fd-vir-ga'-t5. EmlHrmuim is a villanous word, concocted by Lesson out of Emhcrha and Tanw/ra. Euihrrizn, a bunting, is a word the derivation of which is not classic. It is said, doubtless correctly, to be Latinized from the O. II. G. Kmhritz: "Charleton (1008) has Emliri/:a " CVVharton's MS.) ; and we may add that there were various other forms of the word before it settled into the present one. — There are Latin words Tnniiger and Tmuujra ; but these are geographical proper names, having nothing to do with the present case. Tamjam or TamKjra is a South American vernacular word. — Lat. rnfiis, rufous, reddish, and rirrjatns, literally, made of twigs; from vin/a, a rod, switch, the application being the stripes with which the bird is marked. Commonly written rufivinjota : see f.ojthoiih(ims. No. 42. 312. D61-Tch'-6-nyx 6-ry-zI'-v6-riSs. Gr. 8oAix<^s, long, and it^uf, a nail, claw, talon. The gender is in question ; but the Greek uw^, Lat. oniix, is masculine, though Latin words in -yx are usually feminine. The usual pronunciation is dolicho'nyx: but see Pipilo, No. 305. Gr. Spu(a, or Lat. oiyza, rice, and voro, I devour. »i i.i IIP 62 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 313. Molothrus ater (Codd.) Gray, b 400. c 2H. r 268. Cowbird. 314. Molothrus ater obscurus (Gm.) Coues. b — . c 211a. r 268a. Dwarf Cow-bird. 316. Molothrus aeneus Cab. B — . c — . r 269. Bronzed Cowbird. 316. Agelseus phceniceus (L.) V. b 401. c 212. r 2C1. Red-winged Marsh Blacltbird. 317. Agelaeus phceniceus gubemator (Wagl.) Coucs. B402. C2i2a. R2Cia. Red-sliouldered Marsli Blacltbird. 318. Agelseus tricolor Niitt. b 403. c 2126. r 202. Red-aud-whito-sliouldered Marsli Blaclibird. wi:y-^ 313. M8-ia'-thr0s a'-t€r. Undc derivnttirl The ortliogrnpliy and etymology of molothrus are alike in dispute. Swainsun liiinsclf says, " noKoOpos, qui ), and answer all the conditions of Swainson's definition ; molothrus being, in this case, a bird whicli takes uninvited possession of other birds' nests, and there leaves an alien egg in mockery of the rightful owners. We therefore see no necessity to rcj)lace molothrus by molohrus. The first o is marked long as being Or. ai, the second as lengthened by position. This stands in the orig. ed. as M. pccoris, corrected in a footnote. 314. M. a. 5b-scu'-rfls. Lat. obscurus, obscure, dark; ohscuro, I darken; Gr. ffKid, shadow, shade. This stands as M. pccoris var. obscurus in the orig. ed. 315. M. a. aE'-n6-Qs. Lat. eencHs, of brass, brassy, brazen, bronzed; from i ■ cntly 319. X5n-th8-ceph'-51-fls Ic-ter-fi-ceph'-SI-iSs. Gr. {oi/9rfi, bright yellow. — Or. Urtpot, or Lat, icterus, see Icteria, No. 144. Kelntcd apparently to 1k(d, I attack, as disease does. 320. Stur-n5l'-15 mag'-nS. Diminutive of Lat. «. n scs. Stott'a Oriole. 330. Icterus melanocephalus auduboni (Gir.) Coucs. n 400. c 220. R 20(5. Autluboirs Ulaeli-lioiuicd Oriole. 331. Scolecophagus ferrugineus (Gm.) Sw. b 417. c 221. R 273. Kusty Cirackle. 332. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus (Wagl.) Cab. b 418. c 222. r 274. I)lue-lieaility of the name to the bird : Bonaparte probably so called it from national vanity, or because he found a specimen in a museum in Paris. The name is conmionly but wrongly written }inil.sonim. 330. I. inSl-5n-6-ceph'-51-Qs aad'-0-b6n-i. Ur. /utAos, feminine /wtAoii/o, black; and (cKpoAi^, head. — To J. J. Audubon. 331. Sc5-le-ca'-ph5-giS3 f5r-ra-gIn'-6-0s. Gr. trKui\VKodyos, a, worm-oaicr; (r»c(«\r){, genitive (tkuJAtjkos, a worm, and