94 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



559. Canace obscura fuliginosa Ridg. B . c 3816. R 47ia. 



Fuliginous Dusky Grouse. 



560. Centrocercus urophasianus (Bp.) Sw. B 462. C382. R 479. 



Sage-cock ; Cock-of-the-Plains. 



561. Pedicecetes phasianellus (L.) Elliot. B . c 383. R 478. 



Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse. 



562. Pedicecetes phasianellus columbianus (Orel) Coues. B 403. c 383a. R478& 



Common Sharp-tailed Grouse; Prairie Hen of the Northwest. 



563. Cupidonia cupido (L.) Bd. B 464. c 384. R 477. 



Pinnated Grouse ; Prairie Hen. 



564. Cupidonia cupido pallidicincta Ridg. B . c 384o. R 477a. 



Pale Pinnated Grouse. 



565. Bonasa umbella (L.) Steph. B 465. c 385. R 473. 



Ruffed Grouse ; " Pheasant " in the Middle and Southern States. 



559. C. o. fu-li-gin-6'-sa. Lat., post-classic, fuliijinosa, of a dark sooty color; fa/,igo, soot; 



falica, orfulix, a coot ; so called from its color. 



560. Cen-tr5-cer'-cus u-r6-pha-si-a'-nus. Gr. Kevrpov, a spine, and KepKos, tail; " sharp- 



tailed." Gr. ovpa, tail, and <pa.aia.vos, Lat. phasianus, Fr.faisan, Engl. pheasant, pertaining 

 to the river Phasis in Colchis. The scientific name of the English pheasant is Phasiaiuis 

 colchicus. The name " pheasant " has been ignorantly transferred to various American 

 birds of this family. 



561. PSd-i-oe'-cg-tes pha-sl-an-el'-lus. Gr. irfSiov, a plain ; as we should say, prairie; from 



n-foof, the ground ; and OJ'/CE'TTJS, an inhabitant ; see Pocecetes, No. 232. The word was 

 originally written Pedioccetes. Lat. phasianellus, diminutive of phasianus ; see Centro- 

 cercus, No. 5GO. 



562. P. p. c61-um-bi-a'-nus. To the Columbia river, whence the birds were brought by 



Lewis and Clarke. 



563. Cu-pi-do'-m-a cu-pi'-do. The bird was named by Linnreus Tetrao cupido, after the " blind 



bow-boy," son of Venus, not with any allusion to erotic concerns, but because the little 

 wings on the bird's neck were likened to "Cupid's wings." The same idea is repeated 

 in the English " pinnated " grouse. Professor Reichenbach formed Ids genus Cupidonia 

 by merely adding a suffix. If he had written cupidinea, he would have had a classic 

 word, directly formed, like cupidus, from cupido, exactly expressing the sense intended 

 by Linnsens to be conveyed. The Latin tetrao, from the Gr. rerpawv, and tetrioc, from 

 the Gr. rerpi, were certain gallinaceous birds, so called from their wont to cackle, 

 : all onomatopoeic. 



564. C. c. pal-ll-di-cinc'-ta. Lat. pallidus, pallid, pale; and cinctus, begirt, encircled; cimjo, 



I bind. 



565. Bon-a'-sa um-bel'-lus. Gr. jSoVcuros, Lnt. bonasiis, a wild bull. The allusion here is to the 



"drumming" noise made by the bird, likened to the bellowing of a bull ; see Bubo, 

 No. 462, and Botaurus, No. 666. Also written Bonasia. Lat. umbel/us, or umbella, an 

 umbel, umbrella ; from umbra, shade, shadow, whence penumbra, umbrageous, &c. The 

 allusion is to the tuft of feathers on the side of the neck, as in the case of cupido, which 

 see, No. 563. Linnaeus wrote Tftrao umbellns, masculine ; but we see no reason why 

 umbella, the noun feminine, should not be used with Bonasa; it is equally good Latin. 

 The adjective umbellata would be preferable to either. 



