CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



99 



600. Recurvirostra americana Gm. b 517. c 407. r 566. 



American Avocet. 



601. Himantopus mexicanus (Mull.) Orel. B 518. c 408. R 567. 



Black-necked Stilt. 



602. Steganopus wilsoni (Sab.) Coues. B 519. c 409. r 565. 



Wilson's Phalarope. 



603. Liobipes hyperboreus (L.) Cuv. b 520. c 410. r 564. 



Northern Phalarope ; Red-necked Phalarope. 



604. Phalaropus fulicarius (L.) Bp. b 521. c 411. r 563. 



Red Phalarope ; Gray Phalarope. 



605. Philohela minor (Gm.) Gr. b 522. c 412. R 525. 



American Woodcock. 



606. Scolopax rusticula L. b — . c 413. R 524. (! e.) 



European Woodcock. 



600. Rg-cur-vl-ros'-tra am-gr-I-ca'-na. Lat. re.curvus, bent upward, recurved, and rostrum, 



beak : as the bill of the avocet notably is. — The English word is either avocet or avoset, 

 the meaning of which we know not. 



601. Him-an'-to-pus mex-I-ca'-nus. Gr. ifj.avr6irovs, Lat. himantopus, the stilt, from </xas, 



genitive ifi.dvTos, and novs, foot. The former word means a thong or strap ; apphed to 

 this bird on account of its very long leathery legs like straps. Commonly accented on 

 the penult ; see Contopus, No. 380. 



This stands as //. nigricollis of the orig. ed.; see Cassin, Pr. Phila. Acad., 1864, p. 246. 



602. Steg-an'-6-pus wil'-s6n-i. Gr. ffreyavSirovs, web-footed; ffTiyav6s, webbed; (myivq, a 



web ; ffriyca, I cover, roof in, and irovs, foot. Commonly accented on the penult ; see 

 Contopus, No. 380. 



603. L6b'-I-pes hy-per-bor'-g-us. Gr. \o$6s, Lat. lobus, a lobe, flap, and Lat. pes, foot; "lobe- 



foot," in allusion to the flaps on the toes. — Lat. hjjperhoreus, Gr. inrepl36peos, hyperborean, 

 in the extreme north, " beyond the north wind," in the sense of wliere the north wind 

 comes from. 



604. Phal-ar'-6-piis fial-I-ca'-ri-us. Gr. 4>a\apis, the coot, so called from the conspicuous 



white of the bill, <\>a.\ap6s meaning white, bright, clear, &c. ; and irovs, foot ; phalaropus 

 is " coot-foot ; " the phalarope was early called " coot-footed tringa," from the flaps on 

 the toes, like those of a coot. The full form of the word would be phalaridopus. — Lat. 

 fulicarius, relating to a coot ; the specific name being derived, like the generic, from the 

 lobate feet. See also Fulica, No. 686. See Contopus, No. 380. 



605. Phil-6'-h6l-a min'-6r. Gr. <l>'i\os, loving, or a lover, and eAos, a swamp. Commonly 



accented on a wrongly lengthened penult. — Lat. minor, comparative degree of parvus, 

 smaller (than the European woodcock). 



606. Sc61'-6-pax rus-ti'-cu-la. Gr. ff/coAoVo^ Lat. scolopax, a snipe; the name of this very 



species. The dictionaries give it as a theme, and any possible derivation is open to 

 conjecture, cf. (tkoKo^, from the shape of the bill (most likely); o-k&SAtjI, a worm; 

 (tkolWu), I scratch. — Lat. rusticus, a. rustic, a countryman; diminutive rusticnlus; from 

 rus, the country, as opposed to the city. The word occurs as ruslicola in Linnsus, and 

 has so almost universally been written ; but as Wharton shows (Ibis, 1879, p. 453), this 

 is erroneous. The word would be ruricola, if from rus and colo, I inhabit. Rusticula is 

 good Latin, and the epithet of "little countryman " is very appropriate to the bird. 



