54 DICTIONARY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



striving to draw the nails that held Christ to the Cross is 

 familiar to many. Longfellow, in his " Legend of the 

 Crossbill," from the Grerman of Julius ^Nlosen, alludes not 

 / to the twisted bill but to the plumage " covered all with 

 blood so clear." This supposed origin of a ruddy plumage 

 is elsewhere attributed to the Robin (q.v.). Hartert has 

 separated the form inhabiting Scotland from that inhabiting 

 England and Wales imder the name of Scottish Crossbill. 



Common Crow : The CARRIOX-CROW. (Merrett, Willughby.) 



Common Cuckoo : The CUCKOO. Most of our older authors 

 use the prefix " Common " for this species. 



COMMON CURLEW [No. 404]. The name is imitative of its 

 whistling note resembling cur-lew. Li Fr. Courlis or Corlieu. 

 Occurs in Barlow's plates (1655) as " Curlew " and in 

 Merrett's list as " Curliew." ^Villughby and many later 

 writers dowTi to Montagu call it the Common Curlew, w'hilst 

 others of the nineteenth century drop the prefix " Common." 

 It has alwaj^s been esteemed for the delicate flavour of its 

 flesh. Willughby gives the following as an old Suffolk 

 saying : — 



A" Curlew, be she white, be she black, 

 She carries twelve pence on her back. 



Common Dipper: The DIPPER. (Yarrell.) 

 Common Duck : The MALLARD. (iMontagu.) 

 COIMMON EIDER [No. 307]. From the Norweg. Ejda?, Icel. 

 Mdur. Willughby calls it " Cuthbert-Duck ; Anas S. 

 Cuthberti seu Farnensis," and also Wormius's Eider. 

 The Cuthbert is an allusion to St. Cuthbert, who lived 

 on Fame Island, where the bu'ds breed. Pennant (176fi) 

 calls it " Eider Duck," wiule Montagu terms it the " Eider 

 Duck or Edder." It is the "Great Black and AATiite 

 Duck " of Edwards. 



Common European Crossbill. Macgillivraj^'s name for the 



CO]\BION CROSSBILL. 

 Common Galllntule : The MOORHEN. (Pennant, Montagu, 



etc.) 

 Common Gannet. See GANNET. 

 Common GoD\\^T : The BAR-TAILED GODWIT. (Pennant, 



Montagu.) 

 Common Grosbeak : The HAWFINCH. (Albin.) 

 COMJVION GUILLEMOT [No. 445]. The name occurs in 



Yarrell (1st ed.) as Common Guillemot. Derived from Fr. 



Guillemot. Willughby describes it as " The Bird called by 



