CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 99 



600. Recnrvirostra americana Gm. B 517. c 407. R 566. 



American Avocet. 



601. Himantopus mexicamis (Miill.) Ord. B 518. c 408. R 567. 



Black-necked Stilt. 



602. Steganopus wilsoni (Sab.) Coues. B 519. c 409. R 565. 



Wilson's Phalarope. 



603. Lobipes hyperboreus (L.) Cuv. B 520. c 410. R 564. 



Northern Phalarope ; Red-necked Phalarope. 



604. Phalaropus fulicarius (L.) Bp. B 521. c 411. R 563. 



Red Phalarope; Gray Phalarope. 



605. Philohela minor (Gm.) Gr. B 522. c 412. R 525. 



American Woodcock. 



606. Scolopax rusticula L. B . c 413. R 524. (!E.) 



European Woodcock. 



600. R-cur-vI-r5s'-tra am-gr-I-ca'-na. Lat. recurvus, bent upward, recurved, and rostrum, 



beak : as the bill of the avocet notably is. The English word is either avocet or avoset, 

 the meaning of which we know not. 



601. Hlm-an'-tS-pus mex-I-ca'-nus. Gr. i/j.avT6irovs, Lat. himantopus, the stilt, from f/tos, 



genitive lfj.ai.vros, and irovs, foot. The former word means a thong or strap ; applied to 

 this bird on account of its very long leathery legs like straps. Commonly accented on 

 the penult ; see Contopus, No. 380. 



This stands as H. nigricolUs of the orig. ed.; see Cassin, Pr. Phila. Acad., 1864, p. 246. 



602. St6g-an'-6-pus wfl'-sdn-i. Gr. (rreyav6irovs, web-footed; ffreyavos, webbed; <rreydvii, a 



web ; (TTcyw, I cover, roof in, and irovs, foot. Commonly accented on the penult ; see 



Contopus, No. 380. 



603. L6b'-I-pes hy-per-bSr'-g-us. Gr. \o06s, Lat. lobus, a lobe, flap, and Lat. pes, foot; "lobe- 



foot," in allusion to the flaps on the toes. Lat. hyperboreus, Gr. virfp&opeos, hyperborean, 

 in the extreme north, " beyond the north wind," in the sense of where the north wind 

 comes from. 



604. Phal-ar'-S-pus ful-I-ca'-rl-us. Gr. <f>a\apis, the coot, so called from the conspicuous 



white of the bill, <f)a\apds meaning white, bright, clear, &c. ; and TTOVS, foot; phalaropus 

 is " coot-foot ; " the phalarope was early called " coot-footed tringa," from the flaps on 

 the toes, like those of a coot. The full form of the word would be phalaridopus. Lat. 

 fulicarius, relating to a coot ; the specific name being derived, like the generic, from the 

 lobate feet. See also Fulica, No. 686. See Contopus, No. 380. 



605. Phll-Q'-hel-a mln'-or. Gr. <{>i\os, loving, or a lover, and e'Aos, a swamp. Commonly 



accented on a wrongly lengthened penult. Lat. minor, comparative degree of parvus, 

 smaller (than the European woodcock). 



606. Sc61'-6-pax rus-tl'-cQ-la. Gr. o-/coAo7ra, Lat. scolopax, a snipe ; the name of this very 



species. The dictionaries give it as a theme, and any possible derivation is open to 

 conjecture, cf. aKo\o\l/, from the shape of the bill (most likely) ; ai((f>\r)l-, a worm ; 

 tr/caAAw, I scratch. Lat. rusticus, a rustic, a countryman; diminutive rusticulus ; from 

 rus, the country, as opposed to the city. The word occurs as msticola in Linnaeus, and 

 has so almost universally been written ; but as Wharton shows (Ibis, 1879, p. 453), this 

 is erroneous. The word would be ruricola, if from rus and colo, I inhabit. Rusticula is 

 good Latin, and the epithet of "little countryman " is very appropriate to the bird. 



