7 8 
Townsend on a Hybrid Sparrow. 
[April 
upon the Eagle’s broad back, rose gayly over his head, repeating 
the maneuver as often as the baffled “King” attempted to get 
above him. Ever afterward the Eagle was properly respectful 
in the presence of the mite of a Wren that had outwitted his 
majesty. Many forms of this myth appear, and sometimes the 
statements are given as facts. Thus it is hard to tell whether or 
not DuPratz believes the story he tells in his “ History” to ac- 
count for the Kingship of Le Roitelet in Louisiana. In America 
we do not regard the Wren with special kindness ; but in Great 
Britain, it is scarcely ever spoken of without some gentle, loving 
epithet; and the word “poor,” “little,” “tiny,” or “dear” is con- 
stantly joined to the prefix Jenny, Kitty, Titty ( cf . antb Tit), 
Jintie, or Chitty when naming it. 
In Titlark ( Anthus ludovicianus) we again have the prefix 
“small.” Lark is a condensation of two ancient words in Anglo 
Saxon ( Icew , “craft,” and werca , “ a worker”) which meant a 
worker of guile; and the etymologists tell us “the name points 
to some superstition which regarded the bird as of ill omen.” In 
the Scotch form Lavrock or Laverock a near resemblance to the 
old Icelandic Iceviriki (meaning the same as above) is to be seen. 
As for Pipit or Pipit Lark , common terms, the word is derived 
from the same root as the verb to peep (like a young bird’s cry) 
and hence a word describing its somewhat feeble chirp. In my 
long list of local American names for this species occur the fol- 
lowing : Titlark , Prairie Titlark , Lark , Skylark (Dist. of 
Col.), Louisiana Lark (and many other old book-names) ; 
Brown Lark , Red Lark ; Wagtail, American Pipit , Alouette 
Pipe , etc., etc. 
DESCRIPTION OF A HYBRID SPARROW ( ZONO - 
TRLCHLA ALBLCOLLLS + JUNCO HLEMAL 1 S). 
BY CHARLES H. TOWNSEND. 
On December 12, 1882, Mr. William L. Baily shot the bird 
here described near Haverford College, Montgomery County, 
Pa. Mr. Baily suspected it to be a cross between the White- 
throated Sparrow {Z. albicollis) and the Snowbird (y. hiema- 
