CHECK LIST OF NORTH AMEBICAN BIRDS. 



73 



403. Panyptila saxatilis (Woodh.) Coucs. b 107. c 209. R 349. 



White-throated Rock Swift. 



404. NephcEcetes niger borealis (Kenn.) Coucs. B 108. c 270. R 350. 



Black Rock Swift. 



405. Chaetura pelasgica (L.) Steph. b 109. c 271. R 351. 



Chimney Swift. 



406. Chaetura vauxi (Towns.) Do Kay. B no. C 272. R 352. 



Vaux^a Cliimney Swift. 



407. Basilinna xantusi (Lawr.) Elliot. B — . c 273. R 34T. 



Xantus Humming-bird. 



408. Eugenes fulgens (Sw.) Gld. b — . c 2746w. r 334. 



Refulgent Humming-bird. 



409. Trochilus colubris L. B 101. c 275. R 335. 



Ruby-throated Humming-bird. 



f'Ua- 



itock 

 See 



or 

 'exas 

 !, the 



403. P5n-yp'-tl-15 sax-at'-l-lls. Gr. irdvu, much, very, from ttSj, irSo-o, irau, all, and vrlXou, wing: 



in allusion to tlie great length of this member. — Lat. saxatilis, roek-inliabiting : saxuni, 

 a rock. 



404. N6ph-o5'-c6-tes nlg'-6r bSr-e-a'-lIs. Gr. pt<pos, a cloud, and oUfrris, an inhabitant ; well 



applied to this bird of great wing and high flight. See Poiccttes, No. 202. — Lat. niijer, 

 black. — Lat. horcalis, nortliern. 



405. ChaS-tu'-rS pSl-as'-gl-cS. Gr. xo^t^. a stiff hair, a bristle, and olpa, tail, in allusion to the 



spines wliicli jjrojoct from the ends of tlie tail-fcatliers. 



Tlie specific word was written pehnjlca by Linna;us in 1758, and pehsi/ia by liim in 

 1700. Tiie word has occasioned niucli conjecture as to its orthography, derivation, and 

 applicability. We cannot suppose it to be peliii/ird, pelagic, relating to the high seas, like 

 marine. It is ai)parently one of Linnaeus's whims of nomenclature, by which he likened 

 this migratory species to a Pelasgian, one of tlie nomadic tribes of Greece, the Pclasrji, 

 ntKaffyoi Tliere is indeed a geograpliical name iiilasi/in, but such would hardly bo used 

 in this forpi, and would be geographically false, moreover. E.xcluding iK-lasi/ia or prhif/ica 

 as out of the question, and supposing the allusion to be to the nomadic Pil<is(]i, we con- 

 clude that the proper form of tlie word is as above given, ptlus(jica, the adjective 

 meaning Pelasgian, i". c, in a tropical sense, nomadic, migratory. 



408. C. vaux'-i. To William S. V.iux, of Philadelphia. 



407, Bas-Il-in'-na x5n'-tus-i. Gr. ffaaiKivva, a queen, feminine form of ffatriKtis, a king. To 

 Louis John Xantus de Vcsty, wlio later called himself .lolin Xantus, an energetic and 

 successful collector in South-western United States, and .Mexico. We suppose the name 

 originally meant yellow, ^avdSt, xiinlhiis, and in fact it is written xdiilhusi sometimes. 

 This is given as l/ellojitvilird xanlusi m tiie orig. ed. of the Check List. 



403. Eu'-g6n-5s fiil'-gens. Gr. tiytviis, well-born ; from eS, well, and y^vos, birth ; ylyvo/iat, I 

 am born. — Lat. /uh/piis, glittering, refulgent, from /)////ro, I shine, flash, gleam, glitter. 

 Not in the orig. ed. : since discovered in Arizona by IL W. Ilenshaw. 



409, TrBch'-I-lQs c61'-iS-brIs. Gr. rpSxi^os or Tpoxl^oI, Lat. trochilus, a kind of bird ; from 



Tpoxo'r, a runner. The bird originally so called by Herodotus was an Egyptian species 

 of plover, of the genus yE(jialitis, which was so named from its habit of coursing the 

 banks of streams. The name was also applied by the ancients to some small bird, 

 species uncertain, perhaps a warbler, wren, or kinglet. Very curiously, the name was 

 afterward transferred to the American humming-birds, becoming fixed in modern nomen- 





,. y. 



