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INTRODUCTION. 



or ignorance were discovered in our habitual use of names. It was tlierefore 

 dctcrniinvd to submit the current catalogue of North American birds to a rigid 

 examination, with reference to the spelling, pronunciation, and derivation of ever)' 

 name, — in short, to revise the list from a philological as well as an ornithological 

 standpoint. 



The present "Check List," therefore, differs from the original edition in so far 

 as, instead of being a bare catalogue of names, it consists in a treatise on the ety- 

 mology, orthography, and orthoepy of all the scientific, and man}' of the vernacular, 

 words employed in the nomenclature of Noith American birds. Nothing of the sort 

 has been done before, to the same extent at any rate ; and it is confidently expected 

 that the information given here will prove useful to many who, however familiar 

 they may l)e with the appearance of these names on paper, have comparatively little 

 notion of the derivation, signification, and application of the words ; and who 

 unwittingly speak them as they usually hear them pronounced, that is to say, with 

 glaring impropriety. No one who adds a degree of classical proficiency to his 

 scientific acquirements, be the latter never so extensive, can fail to handle the tools 

 of thought with an ease and precision so greatly enhanced, that the merit of ornitho- 

 logical exactitude may be adorned with the charm of scholarly elegance. 



The purpose of the present " Check List" is thus distinctly seen to be twofold : 

 First, to present a complete list of the birds now known to inhabit North America, 

 north of Mexico, and including Greenland, to classify them systematically, and to 

 name them conformably with current rules of nomenclature ; these being ornitho- 

 logical matters of science. Secondly, to take each word occurring in such technical 

 usage, explain its derivation, significance, and application, spell it correctly, and 

 indicate its pronunciation with the usual diacritical marks ; these being purely 

 philological matters, affecting not the scientific status of any bird, but the classical 

 questions involved in its name. 



In the latter portion of his task, which, as is always the cose when thorough work 

 of any kind is undertaken, proved to be more difficult and more protracted than had 

 been expected, and delayed the appearance of the list for nearly a year after the 

 ornithological portion had been practically completed, the author of the original list 

 has received invaluable assistance from Mrs. S. Olivia Weston-Aiken, who cor- 

 dially shared with him the labor of the philological investigation, and to whose 

 scholarly attainments he is so largely indebted, that it is no less a duty than a 

 pleasure to recognize the co-operation of this accomplished lady. 



