y 



94 CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



559. Canace obscura fnliginosa Ridg. b — . c 3816. r 47ia. 



Fuliginous Dusky Grouse. 



560. Centrocercus urophasianns (Bp.) Sw. b 4G2. C382. r 479. 



Sage-cock ; Cock-of-the-Plains, 



561. Pedicecetes phasianellus (L.) Elliot, b — . c ssa. r 478. 



Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse. 



562. Pedicecetes phasianellus colnmbianus (Ord) Coues. b 403. c 383a. R478a. 



Common Sharp-tailed Grouse; Prairie Hen of the Northwest. 



563. Cupidonia cupido (L.) Bd. B 464. c 384. R 477. 



Pinnated Grouse ; Prairie Hen, 



564. Cupidonia cupido pallidicincta Ridg. b — . c 384a. r 477a. 



Pale Pinnated Grouse. 



/ 



'565. Bonasa umbella (L.) Steph. b 4G5. c 385. r 473. 



Ruffed Grouse; "Pheasant" in the Middle and Southern States. 



559. C. o. fu-li-gin-6'-sa. Lat., post-classic, /u/iV/Znosa, of a dark sooty color; fuUcjo, soot; 

 fulica, or/ulix, a coot ; so called from its color. 



560. Cen-tro-cer'-ciis u-ro-pha-si-a'-nus. Gr. Kivrpou, a spine, and KepKos, tail; "sharp- 

 tailed." — Gr. ovpa, tail, and (pa<na.u6s, Lat. phasianus, Fr.faisan, Engl, pheasant, pertaining 

 to the river Phasis in Colchis. Tlie scientific name of the English pheasant is Phasidinis 

 colchicus.' The name "pheasant" has been ignorantly transferred to various American 

 birds of this family. 



561. Ped-I-oe'-c6-tes pha-si-an-el'-lus. Gr. tteSioj', a plain; as we should say, prairie ; from 

 iri^ov, the ground; and oIkstt/js, an inliabitant; see Pomcetes, Xo. 232. The word was 

 originally written Pedioccetes. — lja.t. phasianellus, diminutive oi phasianus ; see Centro- 

 cercus, No. 560. 



562. P. p- c61-iim-bl-a'-nus. To the Columbia river, wiience the birds were brought by 

 Lewis and Clarke. 



563. Cu-pi-do'-ni-a cQ-pi'-do. The bird was named by Linnajus Teirao c«/52c?o, after the " blind 

 bow-boy," son of Venus, not with any allusion to erotic concerns, but because tlie little 

 wings on the bird's neck were likened to "Cupid's wings." The same idea is repeated 

 in the English " pinnated " grouse. Professor Reichenbach formed his genus Cupidonia 

 by merely adding a suffix. If lie had written cupidinen, he would have had a classic 

 word, directly formed, like ciipidus, from cupido, exactly expressing the sense intended 

 by Linnaeus to be conveyed. — The Latin tetrao, from the Gr. rerpdccy, and ielrix, from 

 the Gr. rerpi^, were certain gallinaceous birds, so called from their wont to cackle, 

 TfTpdCfiv : all onomatopoeic. 



564. C. c. pal-li-di-cinc'-ta. Lat. pallidus, pallid, pale; and cinclus, begirt, encircled; cimjo, 

 I bind. 



565. B6n-a'-sa um-bel'-lus. Gr. jiovaaos, Lat. honastis, a wild bull. The allusion here is to the 

 "drumming" noise made by the bird, likened to the bellowing of a bull ; see Did)o, 

 No. 462, and Botaurus, No. 666. Also written Bonasia. — Lat. unibeUus, or umbella, an 

 umbel, umbrella ; from umbra, shade, shadow, whence penumbra, umbrageous, &c. The 

 allusion is to the tuft of feathers on the side of the neck, as in the case of cupido, which 

 see. No. 563. Linnasus wrote Tetrao umbellus, masculine ; but we see no reason why 

 vmbella, the noun feminine, should not be used with Bonasa; it is equally good Latin. 

 The adjective umbellata would be preferable to either. 



