No. 13.] BIRD NAMES. 39 



been so termed, it appears, for a very long time. " Most of us," 

 said a venerable hunter, " call it Sprig-tail, but I suppose its real 

 name is Smees." Josselyn, in his Voyages to New England, 

 published 1674, mentions " Smethes " among other of our birds, 

 but to what species he referred we can only guess. It is inter- 

 esting also to recall the fact that the Smew or "White Nun, 

 Mergus albellus (no longer included in our fauna), has been called 

 both " Smee" and "Smeath." 



At Pleasantville and Atlantic City we hear LONG -NECK, 

 and at Charleston and Savannah SPRIG - TAILED WIDGEON; 

 while in Charleston markets and to some of the local gunners it 

 is the WIDGEON simply. (See our Widgeon of the books, No. 8 ; 

 also Nos. 9, 12, 17, 31.) At St. Augustine the full - feathered 

 drake is the KITE -TAILED WIDGEON. 



Other aliases gathered from various sources, but that I do 

 not remember having heard in common use, are WINTER DUCK 

 (Nuttall -See No. 25); CRACKER (Fleming's British Animals); 

 SPREET-TAIL, PILE -START (both in Giraud's Birds of Long 

 Island); PIGEON -TAIL (Herbert's Field Sports); SHARP-TAIL 

 (Hallock's Gazetteer, and Long's American Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 ing); SPINDLE -TAIL (Water Birds of North America). And 

 Eev. Chas. Swainson, in Provincial Names of British Birds, 

 1885, gives "LADY BIRD (Dublin Bay)," and "HARLAN (Wex- 

 ford)," recording also a name previously mentioned, as follows : 

 " Sea Pheasant (Hants ; Dorset)." 



