coccyzus (to call “cuckoo”) erythropthalmus (from erythros, red, and ophthalmos, eye)
Friday, July 4, 1980 — 1:00 pm
McNaughton, Wisconsin — Spider Lake Road
I heard the Black-billed Cuckoo calling, then spotted it as it flew from perch to perch in the branches over the clearing. It seemed (as all cuckoos do to me) to be very clumsy as it moved about.
empidonax (from empidos, mosquito, and anax, king) traillii (given in 1831 by John James Audubon for his friend Dr. Thomas Stewart Traill of Edinburgh)
Monday, June 16, 1980 — 2:00 pm
Barrington, Illinois — Crabtree Nature Center
I spotted the Willow Flycatcher perched in one of the scrubby trees in the apple orchard. As I watched, I heard it give its “fitz-bew” call several times.
numenius (of the new moon, for the curve of the bill) phaeopus (from phaios, gray, and pous, foot)
Tuesday, May 27, 1980 — 4:35 pm
Tawas Point State Park, Michigan — Lake Huron
I headed back toward my car along the inside shore of the point. I crossed an area of tall grass and flushed this huge bird from the grass not more than twenty feet in front of me. It flew over the main lake and circled north out of sight. I had gotten a good look, but had no idea what it was. After studying my field guides, I was convinced it was a Whimbrel.
Less than two months later, the Chicago hot line reported two Whimbrels on Lake Michigan in Waukegan. I drove up and found them on the beach just south of Illinois Beach State Park. I crept through the sand to within fifty feet of them and got a great look.
larus (ravenous seabird) philadelphia (of the city in Pennsylvania) Its common name was given by George Ord, Philadelphia scientist, for Charles Lucien Bonaparte, French zoologist who lived for a time in Philadelphia.
Tuesday, May 27, 1980 — 4:10 pm
Tawas Point State Park, Michigan — Lake Huron
The state park peninsula ended in a ribbon of sand that curled around and pointed back toward the mainland. I walked out to the end on a boardwalk/path, looking at several warblers that were foraging in the few small trees. A flock of gulls was flying around over the protected bay inside the curve of the point. The Bonaparte’s Gulls were being chased by the larger ones when I first saw them. Later, they were swimming with the other gulls near the shore.
sturnella (starling) neglecta (neglected)
Tuesday, May 27, 1980 — 3:40 pm
Tawas Point State Park, Michigan — Lake Huron
I was walking along the beach toward the tip of the point, past the lighthouse. I cut across some dunes that were covered with tall grass and flushed this bird. It flew a short distance and landed in a small tree about 30 feet away. I assumed it was an Eastern Meadowlark, and after writing it down on my list, I resumed my walk. Shortly after I turned my back on it, the bird started singing. I did the classic double-take. The seven or eight fluid notes it sang were definitely different than the two-noted whistle of the Eastern I’d been hearing all week in Tuscola. I watched it as it sang for a few minutes, then continued toward the point.
