512 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



move involuntarily " should not be lost sight of. The con- 

 struction " red-twitcher " certainly characterizes the well-known 

 vibration of the bird's tail. 



Robin is simply a familiar form of Robert (cf. MAG-pie, jack- 

 daw, and martin). A possible connection with ruby has been 

 suggested, but this is unlikely. 



Nightingale = Anglo-Saxon nihte-galle, " the singer of the 

 night." 



Dipper. This may either mean " the bird that dives for a 

 short time " (dips), or it has reference more probably to the 

 peculiar dipping " bob " of the bird while standing on a stone in 

 mid- stream. 



Titmouse ; spelt by Spenser, titmose. Both tit (cf. tit-lark) 

 and mouse have the same meaning, viz. " small." The proper 

 plural of the word is therefore titmouses — mouse, in this case, 

 having no connection with the rodent of that name. In Suffolk 

 the plural titmousen is still used. 



Nuthatch — nut-hacker. 



Oriole = the golden bird (Latin, aureolus). 



Swallow may possibly mean " the tosser about" or " mover 

 to and fro," allied to the Greek o-ateuEiv, to shake. On the other 

 hand, the Teutonic name, swalgwon, points to a possible con- 

 nection with ocXkvcov, " a kingfisher," owing perhaps to the appear- 

 ance of the Swallow during the fine weather of the " Halcyon 

 days." 



Finch is probably imitative of the Chaffinch's call-note — a 

 bird common all over Europe ; but it is possibly a variation of 

 the German fink, "smart" or "gay." 



Sparrow = the flutterer, from a root spar, to quiver. It is, 

 however, not improbable that spar may here have its meaning of 

 "to wrangle," in reference to the constant bickerings of these 

 birds. 



Linnet, so called from its fondness for the seeds of linum, 

 flax or hemp. 



Bunting probably means " the little speckled bird," from the 

 German bunt, " speckled," + ing, a diminute ending. There is, 

 however, some possibility of its connection with a Lowland 

 Scotch word, buntin, meaning " short and thick." In Scotland 

 bunt is still used for a rabbit's " scut." 



