v " l ) ,,|.> x | Recent Literature. II I 



Swann's ' A Dictionary of English and Folk-Names of British 

 Birds.' 1 Bird students cannot I >■ 1 1 speculate upon the origin of the 

 eariou vernacular name which they encounter in the literature of orni- 

 thology and aa few are tudenl of philology or folk lore Mr. Swann's 

 handy volume conies a a welcome work of reference in which we may find 

 the an wer to man) a que tion. He pre enl a li i oi upward of 5000 

 name which have been applied toBriti h bird . arranged alphabetically, 

 with their meaning and origin where traceable, and accompanied by fable 

 and garding the variou pecii , which have been handed down 



in the folk-lore of England. As mosl of the American bird names are 

 adapted from those of English specii the work appeals alike to orni- 

 thologists on bol li side of the Al lanl ic. 



The author lin<ls the "Avium Praecipuarum Historia" of W. Turner 

 1644 i" be the firs! work containing a li I of birds with English oam< 

 affixed, and beginning with this and bheocca tonal bird names of Chaucer , 

 be has traced the varying nomenclature through a long li i of publications 

 which are cited in the bibliography. 



The longer articles contain much interesting reading. We fin<l under 

 ' Barnacle-Goo e,' the ancienl belief thai the e geese where hatched directly 

 from barnicles which fell from ■■< tree called the ( loose-tree, but it is further 

 pointed oul thai the name ' Bernicle' probably referred originally to the 

 bird and thai its application to the cirriped wa econdary. ' Brant' we 

 find is derived from the Welsh 'brenig' a limpet, doubtlet from Borne 

 similar a sociation. ' Cob ; and ' Pen' we learn were old names for the male 

 and female Swim, while ' Buff' and ' Reeve ' for the exe of the Buff, the 

 qui tion I" Ing till open a to whether the bird was named after the Eliza- 

 bethan frill or the frill after t he bird. 



'Bittern' conn from Botauru originally boatum town, the 'bellowing 

 of a bull'; ' ( Jormoranl ' from ( 'orvue marintu ; ' Sea ( 'row,' and ' Lapwing ' 

 from the Anglo Saxon Hleapi u ince, ' one who turn- in ninning or flying.' 



\moiiL' the many interesting scrap of folk-Ion' we may mention the 

 legend of the Crossbill having acquired its twisted beak from striving to 

 draw the naile thai held Chriel to the Cro ; al o the ver e regarding the 

 Can ion ( 'row : 



( me V unlucky, 

 Two 's lucky; 

 Three is health; 

 Four is weall h; 



Five is sickness, 



And six is deal b. 



■ a Dictionary i of ; Enghsb and Folk-Names ! of I British Hirds, I With their 

 iii i<ii \ , Meaning and Brat usage: | and the Folk-lore, Weal her lore. Legends, etc., I 

 relating to the more familiar species. , By n. Klrke Bwann. , Witherby & Co., | 

 826 High Holborn, London W. O. I 1913. 8vo, pp. l-vll, 1-200. 10 shillings 

 net. 



