244 DICTION ABY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Virginian Cuckoo: The YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 



(Eyton.) 

 Virginian Pabtridge : The Virginian Colin. (JenjTis.) 



Waeg : The KITTIWAI'^E GULL. (Shetlands.) " Diminutive 

 of (Kitti)wake " (Swainson). 



Wagel or Cornish Wag el : The ARCTIC SKUA or the 

 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. Newton remarks that 

 Ray and Willughby got it in 1662 on Godreve Island, near 

 St. Ives. The Arctic Skua seems to have been meant, 

 but they took it to be the young of the Great Black- 

 backed Gull, for which Wagel is still a Yorkshke name. 



Wagtail : The PIED WAGTAIL generally. The name occurs 

 in the fifteenth century, according to Wright, as Wagsterd 

 and Wagstyrt (from 5^eor^=tail). Montagu gives it as a 

 provincial name for the DUNLIN. 



Wall Bibd : The SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. (South and 

 east England.) 



Waix-chat : The STONECHAT (Provincial) ; the SPOTTED 

 FLYCATCHER (N. Yorks.). 



WALLCREEPER [No. 85]. A soutn Jiiuropean species, which 

 is known to have been taken four times in England. The 

 name occurs first in Merrett's list (1667) as a British species, 

 and also in Willughby, who observes that the bird is said 

 to be found in England. 



Wall Robin : The SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. (Cheshire.) 



Wabbleb. The name was first used by Pennant (" Gren. Birds," 

 1773, p. 35) for the birds removed to genus Sylvia by 

 Scopoli, from Linnseus's genus Motacilla. 



Waee-Goose : The BRENT GOOSE. (Durham.) So called 

 from its feeding on " ware," which is coarse seaweed thrown 

 up on the beach (A.Sax. Scewdr, lit. sea-weed). 



Washdish, Washtail, or Washebwoman : The PIED WAG- 

 TAIL is locallv so called (see Dishwasher). " War- 

 winckle " in Latham's " Falconry " (1633, vol. n, p. 144) 

 is thought by Newton to apply to the same bird. 



Wateb Blackbird : The DIPPER. (Yorks., Scotland and 

 Ireland.) 



Water-Colly : The DIPPER. (Somersetshire) lit. " water- 

 blackbird " (see Colly). 



Water crake: The DIPPER. (Willughby.) The name is 

 also applied to the SPOTTED CRAKE. 



