Vo, 'wi9 XVI ] Seton, Popular Brd Names. 231 



Another example, "Bronzed Grackle." For a hundred years, 

 the scientists have been trying to force the people into believing 

 that Bronzed Grackle was the English name of the bird, and 

 have met with the unanswerable response of dumb silence; readers 

 of the scientific bird books use the name, but the public do not. 

 Everywhere to the farm boys the "Bronzed Grackle" is simply a 

 "Big Blackbird." This is descriptive but far from satisfactory. 

 Scores of times I have handed out this name "Bronzed Grackle" 

 to inquiring boys, to find that it never reached their consciousness 

 as a name; it had no appeal to ear or memory; it was hard to say; 

 it was not backed by the genius of the language. I doubt if the 

 word "Bronzed" ever could be; its really acceptable English 

 representative is "Copper"; but the bird does n't look coppery to 

 ordinary view; and the word "Grackle" is impossible, hard to 

 say, meaningless, not striking any familiar chord in the memory. 



"Blackbird" is the popular name. But a local genius in the 

 northwest, a boy with instincts and eyes to see, described it and 

 named it as a "Fantail Blackbird." Here was a real English 

 name, descriptive, acceptable; and instantly it was a success. 

 Everyone who heard it once remembered the name and remembered 

 the bird. 



Perhaps the best illustration of all is the name of the common 

 American Robin. The scientists scolded the colonists fiercely for 

 calling it a "Robin." It was not a "Robin," they maintained, 

 it was a Thrush of the Merula section of the family; and they 

 refused to use, print or sanction any English name for the bird 

 except " Migratory Thrush." After a century of irascible attack, 

 which was received in silent, ponderous apathy, the scientists were 

 beaten. The cause of English triumphed and today actually 

 even the scientific lists give the bird as the "American Robin," by 

 which name it is known to every child in America, and loved because 

 it is known. 



For a hundred years, scientists had been trying to make us 

 believe that Rice Troupial, Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina 

 Nightjar, Virginia Goatsucker, Black-throated Bunting, Vociferous 

 Plover, Golden -winged Woodpecker, Virginia Quail, Polyglot 

 Thrush, Ferrugineous Thrush and Black-capped Titmouse, were 

 the English names of certain American birds; but the genius of 



