Vol i909^ VI ] Trotter, English Names of American Birds. 353 



originally referred to the daw or jackdaw of Europe and the rela- 

 tionship between the American birds and the European species, 

 though somewhat distant, was recognized by early writers. Quis- 

 calus quiscula appears in Catesby as "The Purple Jackdaw" 

 (I, 12). Bartram calls it the "Lesser purple jackdaw or crow 

 blackbird" (the first notice I have found of this last common name). 

 Wilson calls it the "Purple Grackle," from which source it has 

 without doubt spread into the current vernacular of ornithology, 

 though not into the speech of the people at large. 



The name "Parula" recently in vogue for the warblers of the 

 genus Compsothlypis is clearly borrowed from the old Bonaparte 

 genus Parula (diminutive of titmouse). The bird (C. americana) 

 has appeared under various titles — "the Finch Creeper" of Catesby 

 (I, 64), "the various coloured little finch creeper" of Bartram 

 (Travels, 292), and the "Blue Yellow-backed Warbler" of Wilson, 

 Audubon and later authors. 



In "Kinglet" we have a word rendered into English from the 

 generic name Regulus (Cuvier) though its use is somewhat recent, 

 "wren" being the vernacular designation of the species of Regains 

 until a comparatively late period. Edwards (Gleanings, V, 95) 

 refers to the species as "Le Roitelet" (also Buffon). 



"Tanager" is another derived word from the Linnsean genus 

 Tanagra, probably of Brazilian origin (Marcgrave, Hist. Rer. 

 Nat. Bras., 214). 



III. Names Suggested by Voice. 



In this group, and in the ones that follow, the vernacular names 

 are more specific in their nature, indicative of some peculiar feat- 

 ure or habit of a species. Bird voices have been embodied from 

 the earliest times in various expressive syllables which have given 

 rise to a variety of names. "Cuckoo" was one of these, and in 

 like manner "Wren," "Crow" and other bird names of the Old 

 World. The babble of our voluble Chat, as we have seen, un- 

 doubtedly led Catesby to ally the bird with a group of very differ- 

 ent species. In America the colonists soon found names by which 

 to designate a number of birds from peculiarities in their vocal 

 performances. Latham speaks of the " Phcebe-bird " (Sayornis 



