The following owe their names to their characteristic note:—the Cuck-oo, the Pee-wit, the Cur-lew, the Chick-a-dee, and the Whip-poor-will. The Trumpeter of South America is so called on account of its loud, clear, and trumpet-like cry. The word Nightingale is a modern form of the Anglo-Saxon nihtegale, indicative of a bird that sings by night, agreeably to its component parts, niht, night, and gale, a songster. The Night-Jar bears its name because the sound it emits resembles the whirring of a spinning-wheel. The Mocking-bird possesses the power of imitating the notes of other birds; while the Humming-bird is remarkable for the humming sound that proceeds from its wings as it speeds through the air.

Several birds are named after the colour or some other characteristic of their plumage. Among these we have the Greenfinch and the Goldfinch, the term Finch from the Anglo-Saxon finc, denoting a small singing bird; the Greenlet expressing a tiny green bird peculiar to South America; the Jay, a corruption of gai, its French name, alluding to its gay or showy appearance; the Blue-bird, common in the United States, the upper half of which is blue; the Blackbird, so called from its sable aspect; the Starling, owing to the specks at the extremities of its feathers; the Flamingo, of South America and Africa, from its flaming colour; the Oriole, an Australian bird of golden-yellow plumage, agreeably to the Latin aureolus, golden; and the Lyre-bird, also a native of Australia, so denominated on account of the sixteen feathers of the tail which when folded form in appearance a perfect lyre. The British song-bird known as the Red-poll receives its name from the tuft of red feathers upon its head; whereas the South African Secretary-bird is so called because a tuft of feathers on each side of its head are supposed to resemble quill pens stuck behind the ear. The South American Birds of Paradise are indeed a beautiful species, all the colours of the rainbow being represented in their plumage; and the same may be said of the Love-birds, so designated from the extraordinary affection which they exhibit towards one another. The Kingfisher is regarded as the king of fisher-birds, or those that dive for fish as their prey, by reason of his gay plumage.

The Lapwing derives its name from the loud flapping noise made by its wings during flight; the Wagtail, from the incessant wagging of its tail; and the Scissors-tail—found only in South America—from the peculiar nature of its tail, which, like a pair of scissors, opens and shuts in the course of its rapid passage through the air and so entraps the flies upon which it preys. The Hangbird is so called from its habit of suspending its nest from the limb of a tree; the Weaver-bird, from the wonderful intertwining of twigs and grass displayed in the construction of its nest; and the Tailor-bird, from the skill it displays in constructing its nest by stitching together the leaves of plants.

Among corruptions of the names of birds it will be sufficient to mention the Widow-bird, properly the Whydaw-bird, after the territory in Africa of which it is a native; the Martin, from the Latin murustenco, or wall-swallow, shortened into murten, and mispronounced marten; and the Muscovy Duck, which, so far from claiming a Muscovite origin, is merely a musk duck, a species somewhat larger than our common duck.

The Swift derives its name from its rapid flight; the Passenger-pigeon, from its migratory habits; the Skylark, from mounting to the sky and singing as it flies; and the Chaffinch, from its preference for chaff above every other kind of food. The Diver is remarkable for its habit of diving; the Sandpiper inhabits the sea-beach; and the Chimney-swallow builds his nest in an ordinary house chimney. The Horn-bill, the Boat-bill, the Spoon-bill, and the Duck-bill are respectively so named on account of the resemblance of their bills to the articles, and in the last-mentioned case to the bird, indicated; while the Cross-bill has its mandibles crossed in opposite directions. The Pouter-pigeon is so called from the pouting, or bulging out, of its breast; the Ring-dove, from the white ring around its neck; and the Wryneck, from the curious manner in which it turns its neck over its shoulder when surprised. The Woodcock is found in the underwood of a forest, while the Woodpecker pecks holes in the bark of trees in search for insects.

Chief among the birds which derive their names from the countries to which they originally belonged are the Guinea-fowl, brought from Guinea, West Africa; the Brahma-fowl, from the neighbourhood of the Brahmapootra River in India; the Bantam, from Bantam in Java; the Barb, from Barbary, and the Turkey, which, although an American bird, was long believed to have been imported from European Turkey. Another native of North America received its name of the Baltimore-bird from the fact that its colours corresponded with those which occurred in the arms of Lord Baltimore, the Governor of Maryland, in which State it principally abounds. The Canary was first brought from the Canary Islands in 1500. The Petrel, a sea-bird usually associated with storms, expresses the Anglicized form of the Italian petrillo, a diminutive of Peter, in allusion to St. Peter walking on the sea, and the frequent appearance of this bird standing as it were on the surface of the water.