CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 91 



536. Pseudogryphus californianus (Shaw) Ridg. B 2. c 364. R 453. 



Californian Vulture. 



537. Cathartes atira (L.) 111. B i. c 365. R 454. 



Turkey Buzzard. 



538. Catharista atrata (Bartr.) Less. B 3. c 366. R 455. 



Carrion Crow. 



539. Columba fasciata Say. B 445. c. 367. R 456. 



Band-tailed Pigeon. 



540. Columba erythrina Licht. B 446. c 368. R 457. 



Red-billed Pigeon. 



541. Columba leucocephala L. B 447. c 369. R 458. 



White-crowned Pigeon. 



542. Engyptila albifrons (Bp.) Coues. B . c . R 463. 



White-fronted Pigeon. 



536. Pseu-dS-gry'-phiis cal-I-for-nl-a'-nus. Gr. i//ev5os, false, from tyevSw, I deceive, and Lat. 



gryphus, for gryps, genitive gryphis, a griffin, a fabulous bird ; from Gr. ypty, the same, 

 from ypvirds, bent, hook-nosed. The word is badly formed in two languages : had better 

 have been Pseudogryps. Gryphus is a name early transferred by ornithologists from its 

 fabulous prototype to the condor of the Andes ; and Mr. Ridgway made Pseudogryphus 

 from the resemblance of the Californian vulture to the latter. 



This stands as Cathartes cal. in the orig. ed. See Ridg., Bull. Nutt. Club, v, 1880, 

 p. 79. 



537. Cath-ar'-tes au'-ra [ow-rah, not or-ah]. Gr. KaQapT^s, a purifier, from KaQalpw, I cleanse, 



purify, purge ; from the good offices of the bird as a scavenger in warm countries. 

 Aura is a name applied to this bird by the oldest writers who speak of it, and, in all its 

 various forms, as rendered by De Laet and others who treat of tropical American 

 Cathartidce, it is of South American or Mexican origin, and apparently related to 

 urubu or ourubu. It early crystallized in its present orthography, and was soon Latinized, 

 or at least declined as a Latin word; as, rex aurarum, or regina aurarum (genitive plural), 

 "king of the vultures." That it has any connection with Lat. aura, Gr. cfipa, air, 

 atmosphere, may well be doubted. 



538. Cath-ar-is'-ta a-tra'-ta. Badly framed from KaOapifa, only another form of KaBaipu, of 



same meaning; see No. 537. Lat. atrata, participial adjective, blackened; ater, black. 

 This stands as Catharles atratus in the orig. ed. See Ridg., Bull. Nutt. Club, v, 1880, 

 p. 80. 



539. C61-um'-ba fas-ci-a'-ta. Lat. columba, a pigeon; etymology unknown. See Chamcea, 



No. 39. 



540. C. g-ryth-ri'-na. Lat. erythrina, Gr. epv9p?t>os, reddish ; from cpv6p6s, red. 



This is C.flavirostris of the orig. ed. As the bill is not at all yellow, another name is 

 desirable. See Ridg., Pr. Nat. Mus., ii, 1880, p. 9. 



541. C. leu-cd-ceph'-a-la. Gr. Xeu/co'y, white, and /ce^aA^, head. 



542. En-gyp'-ti-la al'-bl-frons. Gr. lyyts, narrow, slender, contracted, and ir\i\ov, a feather; 



from the attenuated outer primaries. Lat. albus, white ; frons, forehead. 



Not in the orig. ed. ; since discovered in Texas by G. B. Sennett. See Coues, Bull. 

 U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr., iv, 1878, p. 48, and Bull. Nutt. Club, v, 1880, p. 100 ; Ridg., Pr. 

 Nat. Mus., i, 1878, p. 158. 



