CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 33 



85. Alauda arvensis L. b — . c — . R 299. (!e.) 



European Skylark. 



86. Motacilla alba L. b — . c — . R 69. (g.) 



White Wagtail. 



87. Budytes flavus (L,) Gr. b — . c 54. R 70. 



Yellow Wagtail. 



88. Anthus pratensis (L.) Beclist. B — . c 55bis. r 72. (!e.) 



Meadow Pipit. 



,89. Anthus ludovicianns (Gm.) Licht. B 165. c 55. R 71. 



Louisiana Pipit; American Titlark. 



90. Neocorys spraguii (AikI.) Scl. b 166. c 56. r 73. 



Missouri Skylark; Sprague's Pipit. 



85. A-lau'-da ar-ven'-sis. Lat. alauda, a lark, said to be literally "a great songstress," or one 



who sings on high ; from the Celtic al, great, high, and and, song. Some say from Gr. 

 &\ri, roaming, and ojStj, song ; i. e. the bird that sings as she soars. The form of the 

 word might suggest ala, wing, and laus, genitive laudis, praise; as if the bird sang praises 

 on wing. But the Celtic is the only tenable etymon. — Lat. arvensis, relating to a 

 ploughed field; arvum, arable land; arvus for aruus, plouglied ; aro, I plough. 

 Not in the orig. ed. Said to occur in Greenland, Alaska, and the Bermudas. 



86. Mo-ta-cil'-la al'-ba, Lat. motacilla ^ yva.gta.\\, " quod semper caudam TwoyeZ," early applied 



to some small bird; Lat. moveo, motus, I move, motion, and Gr. kIWw of similar 

 signification. There is a Greek word KiWoupos, for the wagtail ; on the contrary there 

 are the Lat. albicilla, atricilla, meaning white-tail, black-tail, &c. The implication in 

 either case seems to be tail, considered as a movable part. Compare Fr. hocliequeue. 



Not in the orig. ed. The species is North American only as occurring in Greenland. 



87. Bii'-dy-tes fla'-vus. Budi/fes is an unknown word to us, unless conjectured to be Suttjs, 



with the augmentative particle fiou-. See Tmjlodytes, No. 74. The particle /Sou, however, 

 is from ^ovs, a bull, ox, cow, and becomes "augmentative," just as we say "horse-laugh," 

 "bull-finch," "elephant-folio," &c., being therefore of obvious inapplicability to this deli- 

 cate little bird. 



Since tlie above was written, Mr. Henry T. Wharton, of London, has kindly replied 

 to queries respecting various words of wliich we were in doubt. In this case, his MS. 

 confirms the above Qtyn\o\ogy, but in a different application ; the actual form, ^ovSirris, 

 being found in " 0pp., Ix. 3. 2," for some small bird ; qu., one tliat goes among cattle ? 



There is some question whether the yellow wagtail of Alaska be the true D.Jiavus. 



88. An'-thias pra-ten'-sis. Lat. anthus, Gr. dudos, a kind of bird. — Lat. pratensis, adjective from 



pratum, a meadow. For anthus, compare cmanthe = vitiflora, under Saxicola, No. 26. 

 This is North American as found in Greenland, and said to also occur in Alaska. 



89. A. lu-do-vi-cY-a^-nus. Lat. Lvdovicus, nom. prop. See Thryothorus, No. 68. Pipit, little 



used in this country, though always said for these birds in England, is an onomatopoeia 

 (6vofj.aToiroua, word-making to express the sense by the sound), like the Lat. pipio, I pip, 

 peep, chirp; see Pipilo, No. 301. Titlark is good English for a small kind of lark, like 

 <iV-mouse, tom-tit; tit in all its forms, and with numerous related words, conveying the 

 sense of something little or otherwise insignificant. 



90. NS-6'-c6-rys spra'-gul-i [three syllables]. Gr. veos, new; Kopvs, primarily a helmet; 



hence applied to the crested lark. — To Isaac Sprague, companion of Audubon on the 

 Missouri. 



