THE OOLOGIST. 



108 



^s to find two nests with fnll comple- 

 Jiient of eggs in each. The first one I 

 found about five yeai's ago, before I had 

 voiiiuienced collecting. It was sinii)ly 

 a slight depression in the sand, in a 

 long sand beach which had been thrown 

 up by the waves. 



The second nest, found this last sum- 

 mer, was better placed, being situated 

 in a small clump of trailing evergreens, 

 which would completely have hidden it, 

 had I not been searching on my hands 

 and knees. In l)oth cases the birds 

 •showed the greatest distress. In the 

 last case the birds followed me fully a 

 mile along the beach trying to lead us 

 still farther from the nest though the 

 ■eggs were safe in my box. I have not 

 the eggs with me at present, but I think 

 they are almost identical to those of the 

 Spotteil Sandpiper. On the day of tinil- 

 iug, July 1st, eggs were far advanced. 



July 21st was also a lucky day for me 

 While walking along au old road, I saw 

 u small stump in which was a hole 

 where it looked as if a knot had been 

 pulled out. Walking up and peering 

 in I was astonished by the flying out of 

 41 small Ijird. On looking, there were 

 five eggs. Not knowing bird, I left 

 them promising my.self a return the fol- 

 lowing day. Though rainy, I found 

 the place and creeping up placed my 

 vap over the hole. After some diflicul- 

 ly I caught the bird, which I recognized 

 as tlie lludsouian Tit. I seiMired the 

 M'ggs and have them home at present. 



I have also been fortunate in finding 

 three nests of wiiat I suppose is the 

 Ked-l)reasted Merganser. I do not 

 know very much]al)out the markings of 

 the bird, except that it has a red or 

 vhestnut colored head. The eggs were 

 Jaid on the ground, in one case under a 

 small spruce, in other two cases among 

 weeos near fallen trees. The eggs are 

 nhout two inches long, and arc of a yel- 

 lowish color. Perhaps you could tell 

 me what they are for I cannot find out, 

 iiijt JH'iJig able to shoot the birds. 



A. C. J(JST, 

 ^\(dfville, N. S. 



Scientific Names, Their Use and Beauty- 



When one has the charming self-cou- 

 tidence to give, deliberately, the wrong 

 definition for a scientific term, he be- 

 comes amusing. In the November '91 

 OoLOGlST I find the following: — 



"He (the Towhee) gets his name, 

 Erythrop/Uhalma; Erythrops, Red, and 

 thahnay, eyes, the Greek for ''red eyes" 

 etc." 



Now this is so palpably wrong that 

 it i sno pett3' criticism if one A'entures to 

 say, that Erythrophthahna is from Ery- 

 i/i7-os, Red, and Ophthalmas eye, a de- 

 rivative from the simple root O^s, which 

 primarily means, face. 



This charming little blunder calls to 

 remembrance the beautiful force and 

 accuracy of the scientific terms used iu 

 Ornithology. The writer has never 

 ceased to admire that union of learning 

 with poetic insight which guided the ven- 

 erable fathers of our dear science in the 

 christenings of the birds; whom they 

 studied not for fame, but for love. 



It requires no learning and little ef- 

 fort to (luote, in brackets, the scientific 

 name of every bird that maj' be causual- 

 ly mentioned in a single article treating 

 of bird life, but to give that name, at 

 first, was a work of genius. 



The trinominal system of nomencla- 

 ture, is au admiralile invention, and nice 

 in its resources for classification. The 

 Generic name gives the group of forms 

 that are joined by a few striking and 

 constant likenesses, the specific name 

 marks the forms that are still more 

 closely allied to one another, within 

 this group, while the sub-specific title 

 characterizes those that are separated, 

 in their relationships by very few and 

 often subtle points of difference. 



There was a "reunion" of the "Smith 

 clan," the other day. Numerous among 

 these were the "Smythes," of Gargan- 

 tua county, while among these, none 

 showed a more striking miiformity of 

 fauiilv likeness than the Ijlonde "de 



