354 Trotter, English Names of American Birds. [net* 



fiiscus), unquestionably given him by some transatlantic corre- 

 spondent. Our name "pewee" is given "pewit" by Bartram. 

 Wilson named the "Wood Pewee" (C onto pus virens) from its voice 

 and its habitat. 



The older writers give "Rice-bird" as the chief caption of Doli- 

 chonyx oxyzivorus (Catesby, I, 14) and Bartram calls the male 

 "the pied rice bird." Wilson calls it "Rice bird," but mentions 

 its other names — "Boblink" and "Reedbird." Nuttall, as a good 

 New Englander, gives "Bob-o-link" as its principal name, and 

 Barton, in his 'Fragments,' has "Bob-Lincoln." I find this last 

 title also in a sketch of the English writer William Hazlitt (1785). 

 These are the earliest references I can find to this song name of the 

 bird which appears to have been early in use throughout New York 

 and New England. 



Among the current specific appelations of certain Sparrows some 

 recent changes are noteworthy. 



The "Yellow winged Sparrow" of W T ilson is now the "Grass- 

 hopper Sparrow," the first allusion to its grasshopper-like notes 

 being, as far as I can find, in Coues's 'Birds of the Northwest' 

 (page 133). We owe the attractive name of "Vesper Sparrow" to 

 John Burroughs (Wake Robin) which has superceded the older 

 "Grass finch" of Pennant and Gmelin and the "Bay-winged 

 Finch" of Wilson. The "Chipping Sparrow" is through Wilson 

 from the earlier "little house sparrow or chipping bird" of Bartram. 

 "Song Sparrow" unquestionably originated through Wilson, as 

 also the specific title melodia. Catesby (I, 34) figures and describes 

 "The Towhe-bird" (Pipilo erythrophthahnus). W T ilson speaks 

 of its name in Pennsylvania as "Chewink." "Towhee" is a 

 later form of the word by adding an additional "e." "Swamp 

 Robin" and (in Virginia) "Bulfinch" are other names mentioned 

 by Wilson. 



"Pipit" is an old English name applied to the Titlarks (Anthus) 

 and is derived through "peep" from "pipe", imitative of the bird's 

 note. 



Catesby calls the Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) "The Mock 

 Bird," though Bartram gives it its modern form. "Catbird" 

 appears as such in Catesby (I, 66) and Bartram adds "Chicken 

 bird" as a synonym (Travels, 290). "Chickadee" as a general 



