^°- 2] The Birds of Old English Literature 31 



4. wudusnite. Woodcock ; <[ wudu, wood + snite, snipe. 

 Sweet calls this bird the woodcock, and the derivation 

 seems to bear it out. The woodcock is a bird of the 

 woodland, while the snipe frequents the marshes and fens. 



WW. 363. 27 : cardiolus, wudusnite ; Cp. C. 258 : ~ uudusnite. 



Gen. Gallinago. True Snipes. 



LI I. I. snite. Snipe. ME. snite, snyte ; perhaps allied 

 to snort, probably having reference to the bird's long bill. 



WW. 285. 12, 344. 38, Cp. C. 138: acegia, snite; WW. 132. 20: aceta, 

 snite uel wudecocc. 



2. hzeferbljlte. Snipe. This word does not appear in 

 ME. but is preserved in Mod.E. as hammer-bleat and 

 heather-bleat, a snipe. In the dictionaries it is variously 

 termed sea gull, bittern, and hawk. Once it appears as 

 hcefenblcete (' haven-screamer,' gull) but this is probably for 

 hmferblcEte, the usual form ; <C hosfer, a he-goat (L. caper) + 

 blcetan, to bleat, lit. a ' goat-bleater.' This seems to describe 

 accurately the male snipe, whose love song resembles the 

 bleatmg of a goat. Hence in many languages the snipe is 

 known by names signifying ' flying goat,' ' heaven's ram,' 

 as in Scotland the ' heather-bleater.' Cf. Diet, of Birds. 



WW. 260. 3, 358. 7 : bicoca, haeferblsete ; 116. 41 : ~ hseferblEete uel pur ; 

 361. 17 : bugium, haeferblaete ; 131. 29 : ~ haefenblaete ; 194. 17 : bicoca, haefer- 

 blseta ; C]*. B. g6 : ~ baebreblete ; Ep, 124 : ~ hraebrebletae ; Er. 124 : 

 ~ hebrebletae ; ^. Gl. 307. note : bicoca, hseuerbleta. 



Gen. Pelidna. Dunlins. 



LIII. pur. Dunlin {^pelidna alpind) ; also called purr or 

 purre. The dunlin like the snipe and most of his allies, 

 exercises himself in peculiar flights and makes a peculiar 

 whistling sound. The resemblance of the dunlin to the 

 snipe, both in appearance and habits, would seem to ex- 

 plain the following reference. 



WW.wt.i^T.: bicoca,hxierh\2eteuelpar ; 285.10: onag-ralulus, mrsidumlii 

 Cset is pur. 



