194 
A DICTIONARY OF BIRDS. 
have undergone and the mistakes which have been made about 
them. Not the least interesting are the terms “ bird ” and “ fowl ” 
themselves. “ Bird,” we are told, was originally the general name 
for the young of all animals ; thus, Wyclif’s phrase for “ generation 
of vipers ” (Matth. xxiii. 33) is “eddris briddis.” Then in Trevisa 
(Barth de P.R.), we find, “In temperat yeres ben fewe byrdes of 
been (=bees), and again, “ All fysshe .... fede and kepe 
theyr byrdes while in Scots Acts, 7 Jac. I., the term is applied to 
mammals, “ The Woolfe and Woolfe-birdes [?'.<?.,cubs] suld be slaine.” 
Later, the word became specialised for those vertebrates covered 
with feathers which had previously been known as “ fowles ” ; mean¬ 
while, this last became limited to the particular group to which it 
is still applied. As an example of the mistakes which may be made 
about a name we may instance “ Dayal.” This, or “ Dhyal,” is the 
native name in India for a kind of Thrush or Warbler ; it became 
corrupted by the Anglo-Indians into ‘‘Dial-bird,” which was trans¬ 
lated by Levaillant Cadran. The idea involved in the Anglo-Indian 
name was perpetuated at a later date by Jerdon, who asserted that 
the specific name saularis, given by Linnaeus, was a slip of the pen 
for solans, as he thought the popular name had something to do 
with a sun-dial. As a matter of fact saularis is the Latinised form 
of “ Saulary, the name under which a pair of these birds were sent 
to Petiver, who first described them. 
Professor Newton s wide knowledge and experience have enabled 
him to bring together under each name just the information which 
a comparatively small work ought to give, and to put it in the most 
succinct form possible. Much of this information is gathered 
together from books of travel and numerous periodicals, foreign as 
well as English, out of the way of all but the few who have access 
to exceptionally well-filled scientific libraries. The result is that 
many details are now rendered easily accessible which formerly 
were within the reach of the specialist only. In this first part of 
the dictionary are included accounts of most of the genera and 
species of birds, the names of which come between “ Aasvogel ” 
and “ Gare-fowlas an example we will quote the following 
article :— 
September, 1893. 
