IIP 



62 



CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



313. Molothrus ater (Codd.) Gray, b 400. c 2H. r 268. 



Cowbird. 



314. Molothrus ater obscurus (Gm.) Coues. b — . c 211a. r 268a. 



Dwarf Cow-bird. 



316. Molothrus aeneus Cab. B — . c — . r 269. 



Bronzed Cowbird. 



316. Agelseus phceniceus (L.) V. b 401. c 212. r 2C1. 



Red-winged Marsh Blacltbird. 



317. Agelaeus phceniceus gubemator (Wagl.) Coucs. B402. C2i2a. R2Cia. 



Red-sliouldered Marsli Blacltbird. 



318. Agelseus tricolor Niitt. b 403. c 2126. r 202. 



Red-aud-whito-sliouldered Marsli Blaclibird. 



wi:y-^ 



313. M8-ia'-thr0s a'-t€r. Undc derivnttirl The ortliogrnpliy and etymology of molothrus are 



alike in dispute. Swainsun liiinsclf says, " noKoOpos, qui <wii vncalu.i nliemi.i avdi-s inlrat; " 

 that is, an uninvited guest. There being no such Greek womI as noKodpos, but tliere being 

 a good Greek word tio\ofip6s, meaning one who roams in quest of food, a vagabond, a 

 beggar, a i)arasite, a " tramp" (as we siiould say now), and therefore exactly answering 

 to Swainson's explanation of his molothrus, it has been supposed by Cabanis that Swain- 

 son meant to say molohrus, and the word has consequently been changed. Though this 

 is very true, it is also to be observed that Swainson wrote molothrus mere than once, 

 showing it not to be a misprint or other mistake, and that, further, it is quite possible to 

 construct the word molothrus from fiuXos and OpdirKw {Bopetv, e6pw, 0ua>), and answer all 

 the conditions of Swainson's definition ; molothrus being, in this case, a bird whicli takes 

 uninvited possession of other birds' nests, and there leaves an alien egg in mockery of 

 the rightful owners. We therefore see no necessity to rcj)lace molothrus by molohrus. The 

 first o is marked long as being Or. ai, the second as lengthened by position. 

 This stands in the orig. ed. as M. pccoris, corrected in a footnote. 



314. M. a. 5b-scu'-rfls. Lat. obscurus, obscure, dark; ohscuro, I darken; Gr. ffKid, shadow, 



shade. 



This stands as M. pccoris var. obscurus in the orig. ed. 



315. M. a. aE'-n6-Qs. Lat. eencHs, of brass, brassy, brazen, bronzed; from <rs, genitive erris, brass. 



Not in the orig. ed. ; since discovered by J. C. Merrill, in Texas. 



316. A-gel-a5'-Qs phoS-ni'-cC-Qs. Gr. iytAoioj, pertaining to flocks and herds, from i-yt'ATj, a 



flock : this from ayftpw, I assemble, from Syoi, I lead ; in allusion to the gregariousness 

 of these Blackbirds. — Gr. ipoivlKtos, or Lat. phceniceus, deep red ; " a color first intro- 

 duced into Greece by the Phoenicians." The fabulous bird Phuunix, and the name of 

 Phoenician, and the word for flame-color, are all the same, tpolvt^. This itself is a ra<li- 

 cal word, but related through <t)ow6t, <p6vos, with (ptvai, (fxia, I kill, slay, as if the idea of 

 the whole set of words were that of murder, from its traditional color of blood. The 

 obvious application is to the scarlet on the wings. 



317. A. p. gflb-Er-na'-t6r. Lat. ijubcmator, Gr. KvBfpvfirris (cybcrnetcs), a pilot, helnisman ; 



fjuhernum or ipthcrnaoilum, a rudder, tiller ; r/uhcriio, Gr. Kufifpvda) or Kvfitpvu. I steer a ship ; 

 hence, to direct or govern in general. Govern, governor, are directly from ijuhcrno, and 

 the actual Latin lingers in gubernatorial. The ini])lication is the red shoulder-knots or 

 epaulettes of the bird, as if signs of rank or command. 



318. A. trl'-c61-5r. Lat. /nco/or, three-colored ; /res, three, becoming in composition <n-. 



This stands as A. phctniceus var. tricolor in the first ed., but proves to be sufliciently 

 distinct. 



