The first question the latter asked when he came back was:--
"Is there a beast or a bird in the world whose Latin name is
canis-lupus?"
Don threw himself back upon the sofa and laughed until the room rang
again. "Is there a beast or a bird in the world whose English name is
dog-wolf?" he asked, as soon as he could speak. "I did give Lester
credit for a little common sense and a little knowledge, but I
declare he possesses neither. It beats the world how he has got
things mixed. Just listen to this," added Don, consulting his
note-book. "He speaks of a pheasant and calls it _T. Scolopax_. Now
_Scolopax_ is a snipe. He probably meant ruffed grouse, and should
have called it _Tetrao Umbellus_. He speaks of a partridge when he
means quail, or more properly Bob White, there being no quails on
this side the Atlantic----"
"Why do people call them quails then?" asked Bert.
"The name was given to them by our forefathers, because they
resembled the European quail. There is no pheasant in America either;
but our grouse looked like one, and so they gave it that name, Lester
calls a quail _Pious Imperialis_. Now that's an imperial
woodpecker--that big black fellow with a red topknot that we
sometimes see when we are hunting.
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