IA.2 CoUES OK Or7iithophilologicalities. [April 



fan or winnowing-machine, with commotions and concussions (tlie bird, 

 understood) makes a noise. 



No. 595. Ostrilegus. Wharton writes this in the usual form, 05/;-«/<'^«s. 

 Some say ostrcelegas. We ventured to emend to ostrilegus, citing Vergil's 

 ostriferus in our support. Here is a case in which we showed our instinc- 

 tive appreciation of the 'genius of the Latin tongue'; in his exegesis upon 

 which theme Professor Merriam might have sent us up to the head of the 

 class again, after so sternly reprimanding us for giving out that atro- 

 cristatus was a fair way of saying ' crested with black' in bird-Latin.* 



No. 604. Phalaropiis fulicarius. See under Fulica, No. 686. 



No. 606. Scolopax. Here is a nugget. We instanced, as the most 

 likeh' etymon, ctkoXoiJ/, a sharp thing, from the shape of the bill; also, as 

 alternative, o-Ka\Xw, I scratch, etc. We also adduced <rKcaXr]|. a worm. 

 Wharton assents to the bearing of the two former of these upon Scolopax, 

 but adds : "But possibly foreign ; for other forips, «rKoX(»Tra| and aTKaXioiras, 

 occur." If Professor Merriam will settle Scolopax, he will confer a lasting 

 favor upon ornithologists. 



No. 620. Ai-quiitella. See No. 625. 



No. 625. Subarquatus. We gave this as an adjective, meaning little 

 or somewhat curved, and as noting the shape of the bill. Wharton says 

 ''''SHbarqnata=^7\. little like a Curlew, arqicata." It is thus made a noun, 

 synonymous with arquatella, and meaning simply ' little curlew.' If 

 arquata is a noun (and Wharton so considers it, in writing Numenius 

 arqicata, not N. arq/iatus), this would seem a proper way of making 

 such a word, or one coinformable at least with usage, as in the case of 

 subbuteo, kypotriorckis, etc. Compare No. 643. 



No. 627. Calidris. We speculated on this word at some length ; 

 Wharton says simply, " Derivation unknown." Will Professor Merriam 

 crack this nut.'' We fancy that, like Scolopax, it is full of meat, if we can 

 only get at it. One of its forms, Scalidris, suggests a possible relation or 

 cognation with Scolopax; another of its forms, c/ialidris, a possible con- 

 nection with charadrius. 



No. 640. Actitiirus. We must here criticize our friend Wharton, who 

 says "^c///?<r/<5^ with the tail (ovpa) oi^^xiActitis." We were certainly right 

 in explaining it as ^^cZ/Vw with a tail, i.e., a long-tailed ^c/^'/w. Bona- 

 parte modelled the woi-d upon Actitis, just as he did Zeiiaidura upon 

 Zenaida after establishing the genus Zenaida upon his wife's name, 

 Zena'ide. But what he meant, was simply a long-tailed Zenaida — surely 

 not what would be implied in this case by Mr. Wharton's explanation of 

 Actittirus. It is a case like motacilla, albicilla, perspicillata, where the 

 verbally correct etymology furnishes an actually incorrect meaning. 



No. 643. Nume7iius arquata. We admit that vou|j.tJvios is the correct 

 word, and that our speculation i-especting ;2«;«e;i is a curiosity. But does 

 Professor Merriam quite fairly reproduce our meaning in quoting us here.'' 

 By 'ornithologists of the heroic age' we mean those of 1555 et seq. And 



* An esteemed English correspondent informs us that Prof. J. H. Blasius (if we 

 remember rightly, the letter not being at hand) anticipated us in tliis emendation. 



