CHECK LIST OF NOETH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



600. Recurvirostra americana Gm. B 517. c 407. R 566. 



American Avocet. 



601. Himantopns mexicanus (Mull.) Ord. B 518. c 408. R 567. 



Black-necked Stilt. 



602. Steganopus wilsoni (Sab.) Coues. B 519. c 409. R 565. 



Wilson's Phalarope. 



603. Lobipes hyperboreus (L.) Cuv. B 520. c 410. R 564. 



Northern Phalarope ; Red-necked Phalarope. 



604. Phalaropus fulicarius (L.) Bp. B 521. c 411. R 563. 



Red Phalarope ; Gray Phalarope. 



605. Philohela minor (Gm.) Gr. B 522. c 412. R 525. 



American Woodcock. 



606. Scolopax msticmla L. B . c 413. R 524. (IE.) 



European Woodcock. 



600. RS-cur-vi-ros'-tra am-er-I-ca'-na. Lat. recurvus, bent upward, recurved, and rostrum, 



beak : as the bill of the avocet notably is. The English word is either avocet or avoset, 

 the meaning of which we know not. 



601. Him-an'-to-pus mex-i-ca'-nus. Gr. l/j.avT6irous, Lat. himantopus, the stilt, from I/J.OLS, 



genitive i^avros, and irovs, foot. The former word means a thong or strap; applied to 

 this bird on account of its very long leathery legs like straps. Commonly accented on 

 the penult ; see Contopus, No. 380. 



This stands as H. nigricollis .of the orig. ed.; see Cassin, Pr. Phila. Acad., 1864, p. 246. 



602. Steg-an'-6-pus wfl'-son-i. Gr. aTeyavAirovs, web-footed ; ffreyavos, webbed ; tneydv-t}, a 



web ; art-yea, I cover, roof in, and irovs, foot. Commonly accented on the penult ; see 

 Contopus, No. 380. 



603. Lob'-i-pes hy-per-bor'-e'-us. Gr. \o06s, Lat. lobus, a lobe, flap, and Lat. pes, foot; "lobe- 



foot," in allusion to the flaps on the toes. Lat. hyperboreus, Gr. virep/Bopeos, hyperborean, 

 in the extreme north, "beyond the north wind," in the sense of where the north wind 

 comes from. 



604. Phal-ar'-6-pus ful-T-ca'-ri-us. Gr. <pa\apis, the coot, so called from the conspicuous 



white of the bill, <pa\apos meaning white, bright, clear, &c. ; and irovs, foot ; phalaropus 

 is " coot-foot ; " the phalarope was early called " coot-footed tringa," from the flaps on 

 the toes, like those of a coot. The full form of the word would be phalaridopus. Lat. 

 fulicarius, relating to a coot; the specific name being derived, like the generic, from the 

 lobate feet. See also Fulica, No. 686. See Contopus, No. 380. 



605. Phfl-o'-he'l-a min'-or. Gr. <pt\os, loving, or a lover, and e\os, a swamp. Commonly 



accented on a wrongly lengthened penult. Lat. minor, comparative degree of parvus, 

 smaller (than the European woodcock). 



606. Scol'-o-pax rus-ti'-cu-la. Gr. <TKo\6ira., Lat. scolopax, a snipe; the name of this very 



species. The dictionaries give it as a theme, and any possible derivation is open to 

 conjecture, cf. 0-/co'Aoi|/, from the shape of the bill (most likely) ; o-/co>Arj, a worm ; 

 a-Ka\\(a, I scratch. Lat. rusticits, a rustic, a countryman; diminutive msticulus ; from 

 rus, the country, as opposed to the city. The word occurs as rusticola in Linnaeus, and 

 has so almost universally been written ; but as Wharton shows (Ibis, 1879, p. 453), this 

 is erroneous. The word would be ruricola, if from rus and coto, I inhabit. Rusticula is 

 good Latin, and the epithet of "little countryman " is very appropriate to the bird. 



