ANALYSIS OF NAMES. 71 



embodied a half-superstitious idea of the New Eng- 

 land fishermen of former days (and it may be per- 

 petuated until now) that this bird came up from the 

 south and ascended the rivers just ahead of the vernal 

 migration of shad, in order to inform them of the 

 approach of the fish ; it is the noting of a coincidence, 

 in other words. 



The terms, " yarrup," " wakeup," " caveduc," " om- 

 etuc," "pi-ute," and "yucker," evidently represent 

 the harsh, well-known cry of this species ; that is, 

 they were at first intended to be imitations of one or 

 another phase of the bird's voice, but have become 

 changed and corrupted, until, perhaps, they no longer 

 answer well to any of its notes. Nuttall has a' 

 pertinent note on this head in the second edition of 

 his Manual of Ornithology, which I quote herewith : 

 "They have also a sort of complaining call from 

 which they have probably derived their name of 

 pee id, pee id; and at times a plaintive queah queah. 

 Occasionally they also utter in a squealing tone, 

 when surprised or engaged in amusing rivalry with 

 their fellows, we-cogh, we-cogh, we-cogh, we-cogh, or 

 wecup, wecup, wecup." 



So much for the contribution to a single item of 

 ornithology (and philology, too, for that matter), 

 which the re-reading of your Journals on a cold 

 November evening may produce. 



