No. 13.] BIRD NAMES. 39 



been so termed, it appears, for a very long time. " Most of us," 

 said a venerable hunter, " call it Sprig-tail, but I suppose its real 

 name is Smees." Josselyn, in his Voyages to New England, 

 published 1674, mentions " Smethes " among other of our birds, 

 but to what species he referred we can only guess. It is inter- 

 esting also to recall the fact that the Smew or White Nun, 

 Mergus albellus (no longer included in our fauna), has been called 

 both "Smee" and "Smeath." 



At Pleasantville and Atlantic City we hear LONG -NECK, 

 and at Charleston and Savannah SPEIG- TAILED WIDGEON; 

 while in Charleston markets and to some of the local gunners it 

 is the WIDGEON simply. (See our Widgeon of the books, No. 8 ; 

 also Nos. 9, 12, 17, 31.) At St. Augustine the full -feathered 

 drake is the KITE-TAILED WIDGEON. 



Other aliases gathered from various sources, but that I do 

 not remember having heard in common use, are WINTER DUCK 

 (Nuttall— See No. 25); CRACKER (Fleming's British Animals); 

 SPREET-TAIL, PILE -START (both in Giraud's Birds of Long 

 Island); PIGEON -TAIL (Herbert's Field Sports); SHARP-TAIL 

 (Hallock's Gazetteer, and Long's American Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 ing); SPINDLE -TAIL (Water Birds of North America). And 

 Kev. Chas. Swainson, in Provincial Names of British Birds, 

 1885, gives "LADY BIRD (Dublin Bay)," and "HARLAN (Wex- 

 ford)," recording also a name previously mentioned, as follows : 

 " Sea Pheasant (Hants ; Dorset)." 



