Official Checklist of the Birds of Australia. 117 
kind. The name is regarded by ornithologists as a mere label, and when they 
adopt the name (or label) of an early ornithologist that name lias to stand in 
its original form or spelling, leracidea should be spelt Hieracidea , hierax ( hieracis ), 
not ieraxy being the Greek word for hawk. There are two Frigate birds, called the 
Greater and the Lesser Frigate birds, and the scientific name of the Greater Frigate 
bird is Fregata minor . (It was first classed as a pelican, and, of course, was smaller 
than that well-known bird.) 
Other errors are referred to in the notes that follow. 
As to the diphthongs that occur in the names, note that the Greek ai is changed 
to a*, and Greek oi to cc as a rule, but not always. Sometimes the ai and oi are 
retained. Thus we have all the “ hcetna ” words ( haima , blood) and other words 
showing the change to ce, and also Dromaius , Aidemosyne f Ailuradus and other 
words retaining the ai. So, too, both <x and oi occur. Even the same root has 
different spellings in different words : — Microcca and Peiroica , Pyrrholccmus and 
Lapholaimus, Poecilodryas and Poiciloptilus. It is to be regretted such inconsis¬ 
tencies have to remain. Greek ou becomes u. This change is seen in two very 
eomraon words. Greek oura t tail, is the -ura or -urns of so many of the names, and 
Greek pous t foot, is the common termination pits, as in Centropus , cyanopus, &c. 
The ending -podxis is from podos t genitive case of pous. As stated elsewhere, 
Greek u (not in a diphthong) is changed to y. This is very Well known. All our 
English words b 3 ginning hypo- are from the Greek preposition hupo. The Greek 
■ei becomes i , and so Geopelia (G. peleia , dove) is correctly pronounced GeopeJia . 
I am indebted to the trustees of the Australian Museum, Sydney, through Mr. 
J. Roy King horn, of the scientific staff, for the use of the Museum library, and 
to Mr. W. B. Alexander and Mr. A. H. Chisholm for good help, and I wish 
particularly to acknowledge the valuable assistance that was always forthcoming 
from Mr. Tom Iredale. The Dictionary of Birds by Professor Newton lias also 
been of much use to me. 
Since writing these notes ami vocabularies in Sydney I have had the opportunity, 
through the courtesy of Dr. Lowe and Mr. N. B. Kinnear, of the Natural History 
Museum, South Kensington, London, of looking at the manuscripts of the late 
Dr. Herbert Langton, who for many years made researches at the museum into the 
derivations of the scientific names of birds and on his death bequeathed the manu¬ 
scripts to the museum. Dr. Langton’s work has been done most thoroughly and 
ably, though he, like myself, has been unable to find anything satisfactory as to 
the origin of some of our Australian generic names —such as Epthianura , Biziura , 
Aplonis. When the originator leaves no reason for the name he has chosen, it is 
impossible always to know what was in his mind to suggest that name. Indeed, 
names that are admittedly “ fanciful” in origin have sometimes been used. 
B-NOTES ON THE NAMES. 
ACANTHAGENYS : G. acantha , spine, and genys, cheek, from the spiny feathers 
below the eye. Note G. gonys = knee. 
ACANTHIZA : Vigors and Horsfield give the derivation of this name “ acantheon , 
dumdum ” (thicket or scrub), “ Zao , vivo ” (I live), a bird that “ lives ” in 
“thickets or scrub”— an appropriate name for most of the Acanthizxdce — 
and say “ they appear to be the inhabitants of bushes and'low shrubs.” All 
Vigors and HorsficUrs names are good — well chosen and correctly formed. 
“ Thornhill ” is not in accordance with the derivation. Acantheon, thicket, 
may bo connected etymologically with acantha , thorn ; but there is no roference 
to the bill. “Scrubtit ” for Acanlhornis magna follows the derivation, 
Acanthorni'i being a compoun l of acantheon or acanthi'a, with ornis , 
bird. See note by Dr. Morgan (Emu, XXIII., 322). 
/EG1NTHA: Gk. An Aristotelian bird, said to be the English Hedge-sparrow, 
which is however, not a finch, but an accentor. 
AETOS : G. eagle, has three syllables, and should be written with a diaeresis. 
/EGOTHELES : See Capriumlgus. 
AIDEMOSYNE : G. modesty. The final e is long in this form of Greek word—■ 
Gerygone , Lalagc, Procnt y Alcyone , &c. 
