CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



88 



85. Alauda arvensis L. b — . c — . R 299. (!E.) 



European Skylark. 



86. Motacilla alba L. b — . c — . r go. (g.) 



White Wagtail. 



87. Budytes flavus (L) Gr. B — . c M. R 70. 



Yellow Wagtail. 



88. Anthus pratensis (L.) Bcchst. B — . c anbu. r 72. (!r.) 



Meadow Pipit. 



89. Anthus ludovicianus (Gm.) Licht. B lor.. c 55. R 71. 



Ijouisiana I'ipit; American Titlark. 



00. Neocorys spraguii (And.) Kd. b lec. c oc. r 73. 



Missouri Skylark; Spruguc's Tipit. 



in inhabitant. 



85. A-lau'-dS ar-v5n'-sls. Lat. alaiidn, a larlt, said to be literally " a great songstress," or one 



wlio sings on liigli; from tlie Celtic al, great, liigli, and ami, song. Some say from (ir. 

 iAij, roaming, and uS-ii, song ; i. e. the bird tliat sings as she soars. The form of tlie 

 word might suggest tila, wing, and laiis, genitive laudi:., praise; as if the bird sang praises 

 on wing. But tlie Celtic is the only tenable etymon. — Lat. arvensis, relating to a 

 plougiied field; arcum, arable land; arvits for armis, ploughed; aro, I plougii. 

 Not in the orig. ed. Said to occur in Greenland, Alaska, and the Bermudas. 



86. M5-t5-cil'-15 al'-bS. Lat. motacilla = wagtail, " iiiiod semper caiidam rnovet," early applied 



to some small bird ; Lat. moveo, motiis, I move, motion, and Gr. KiWai of similar 

 gignifieation. There is a Greek word KiWoupos, for the wagtail ; on the contrary there 

 arc the Lat. alliicilla, ulricilla, meaning white-tail, black-tail, &c. The implication in 

 either ease seems to be tail, considered as a movable part. Compare Vv. hochequeuc. 

 Not in the orig. ed. The species is North American only as occurring in Greenland. 



87. BQ'-dy-t5s fla'-viis. Bixh/irs is an unknown word to us, unless conjectured to be Sirris, 



with the augmentative particle fiov-. See Trmjhdijles, No. 74. The particle fiov, however, 

 Is from /Sous, a bull, o.\, cow, and becomes " augmentative," just as we say " horse-laugh," 

 "bull-finch," "elephant-folio," &c., being therefore of obvious inapplicability to this deli- 

 cate little bird. 



Since the above was written, Air. Henry T. "Wharton, of London, has kindly replied 

 to queries respecting various words of which we were in doubt. In this case, his MS. 

 confirms the above etymology, but in a different application; the actual form, /3oi;Suttjs, 

 being found in " Opj)., I.\. ;5. 2," for some small binl ; qit., one that goes among cattle '>. 



There is some question whether the yellow wagtail of Alaska be the true lljlavns. 



83. An'-thus pra-ten'-sls. Lat. nnlhis, Gr. Scfloi, a kind of bird. — Lat. prtttrnsit, adjective from 

 pratiim, a meadow. For authiis, compare itnanihe = vilijlora, under Sarirohi, No. 2(i. 

 This is North Aniericnii as found in Greenland, and said to also occur in Alaska. 



89. A. lu-do-vI-cI-a'-nOs. Lat. f.ndorlnis, nom. prop. See Thripthonis, No. 08. ripit, little 



iised in this country, though always said for these birds in Kngland, is an onomatop<eia 

 (ovo/ioToiroifa, word-making to express the sense by the sound), like the Lat. jiipio, I pip, 

 peep, chirp; see I'Ipiln, No. ;501. Titlark is good English for a small kind of lark, like 

 <iV-mouse, Xm\\4it ; tit in all its forms, and with numerous related words, conveying the 

 sense of something little or otherwise insignificant. 



90. Ne-8'-c6-rj?s spra'-gu!-i [three syllables]. Gr. vios, new; Kopus, primarily a helmet; 



hence applied to the crested lark. — To Isaac Spraguc, companion of Audubon on the 

 Missouri. 



