[ganong] identity OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS 225 



Mauue, or Mauve. — French name for Sea Gulls, without distinction of species. 

 Used by Champlain in 1604 and by Lescarbot. Denys distinguishes the 

 kinds; as Goiland and Esterlais. According to C. E. Dionne, Mauve is 

 now applied by the Canadian French to Bonaparte's Gull. The word is, 

 of course, connected with the English Sea-mew. 



Mauvis. — French name for the Song Thrush of Europe, but transferred, as 

 I believe, to the Wilson's (and Hermit) Thrushes of America. Used 

 first by Cartier in 1535 as mamiis, a very obvious misprint for mauvis, 

 and by Lescarbot. Neither writer gives any data for identification, 

 but this seems settled by a process of exclusion. Thus there are two 

 Thrushes in eastern Canada so conspicuous that they could not have 

 escaped notice by the early voyagers. One is the American Robin, and 

 the other is the " Swamp Robin " of the English residents, which is 

 Wilson's Thrush, but includes also the more common Hermit Thrush, 

 the two not being commonly distinguished. Now the Robin is men- 

 tioned by both writers under the name Merle, which seems to identify 

 Mauvis as the Hermit and Wilson's Thrushes. The word appears not 

 to have persisted in Canada. 



Merlus. — Name of a fish, described as better than the cod, mentioned by Les- 

 carbot as caught on the Grand Bank. The Merlus of Europe is the 

 Merluccio which does not occur so far north, but there is also, accord- 

 ing to Mistral's Dictionnaire Provençal-Français, a Merlan (which is the 

 same as Merlus) du Nord, which is the Pollock, and accordingly it is 

 without doubt this fish, as all the context sustains, which Lescarbot 

 meant. 



Metauh. — See Loup Marin. 



Michtan. — Name of a tree mentioned by Le Jeune, from which the Montagnais 

 Indians obtained a sweet juice. This would apparently be the sugar 

 maple under its Montagnais name, though this needs confirmation. 



Merle. — French name of the European Blackbird, transferred, through a simi- 

 larity of the song, to the American Robin. Used first by Lescarbot, 

 then by Denys. Its identity is made plain by the fact that the Acadians 

 thus use the name to this day (fide A. C. Smith). Champlain's refer- 

 ence to the Merle, in 1605, is obviously to the European bird. Pro- 

 fessor Dionne says the Canadian French apply Merle to various 

 thrushes. 



Mésange, or Mezange. — French name of the European Titmouse, applied by 

 Dieréville to a bird of Acadia, mentioned in the same group with the 

 Jay, Crow and Blackbird. We have no data for its identification, but 

 as there is no Titmouse in Acadia, I think it likely he referred to 

 a very abundant relative thereof, the common Chicadee, and this is 

 confirmed by the use of mésange for the Chicadee by the Canadian 

 French (fide C. E. Dionne). 



Mignogon, or Mignognon. — Name used by Denys for a tree which his descrip- 

 tion shows to be the " Black Birch " of that region. It is the Micmac 

 name for the tree, given by Rand as Nimnogun. I do not find the 

 name elsewhere, and apparently it has not persisted. 



