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READ THIS BEFORE POSTING: Include Country and Location in title of your Thread Please (1 Viewer)

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Isn't it an idea to also include the scientific name of the identified birds?
I for example come from Holland and I'm not familiar with any English bird names. The scientific names would help a lot (well...ofcourse there's always google...but still..;))

-blerf-

I would certainly agree with that. However, there are problems with changes in nomenclature (the one that springs to mind are the splitting of the genus Parus into lots of different genera - most of which contain only one species. :eek!:)

Is there an international list of all bird species with attached vernacular names?
 
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Isn't it an idea to also include the scientific name of the identified birds?
I for example come from Holland and I'm not familiar with any English bird names. The scientific names would help a lot (well...ofcourse there's always google...but still..;))

-blerf-

I understand your problem, but would respectfully disagree for the following reasons:

-- Requiring everyone to look up and type a scientific name every time they want to write about a bird would be quite burdensome

-- common English names are standardized by the AOU (for American birds/names) and, I assume, by the BOU (for British birds/names). If you need to find the scientific equivalent of an English name, and have not invested in an English-language bird guide, it is very easy to do on the Internet. For example, the AOU has a website with a single page listing over 2000 species with the scientific name and the official American name here:

http://www.aou.org/checklist/index.php3

-- this is an English language-only forum (see the forum rules), so I do not think it's unreasonable to expect others to become familiar with English names. (Even as an American birder I have to "translate" several of the British names, and to help do so simply have a European bird guide close to hand).

-- This is a forum for birders rather than ornithologists, and, at least arguably, one of the things that has promoted birding as a hobby is the standardization of common names, which eliminates the need to refer to more difficult scientific names (and very few birders I now have more than a handful of these memorized).

My two cents,
Jim
 
You could always ask to get the forum template altered - heading box split into TWO - one for country - next for tittle - each box labeled accordingly. It could even be that a drop down country list is available for selection however it should also then be a requirement for both boxes to have something in them before a post is accepted.

On the post front and bird names personally I Don't care if the name is latin American English or even dutch as long as its not twitterish such as mipit, typhoo tea etc etc
 
Keith, vrey good point, but please don't think we're being intentionally rude or arrogant--it's just that the postal service has us very, very well trained!

posted from MI..chigan!

Hmm, and I thought it was

MI..nnesota, or was it
MI..ssissippi, or
MI..ssouri ?

Did I miss any?

Robert in WA..shington (the State, not the City!).
 
Wow, a fascinating thread but it needs a snappier title--how about "Night of the Anal-Retentives"?
 
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Wow, a fascinating thread but it needs a snappier title--how about "Night of the Anal-Retentives"?

I have a better idea. You should start your own forum, be your own moderator, and make up your own policies. 8-P

Until then, this is what the mods say, and its with good reason. So chill, broseph - or in the words of the smileys, smoke-beer-hippy. :smoke:B :):hippy:
 
I have a better idea. You should start your own forum, be your own moderator, and make up your own policies. 8-P

Until then, this is what the mods say, and its with good reason. So chill, broseph - or in the words of the smileys, smoke-beer-hippy. :smoke:B :):hippy:

Start my own forum? That's a little harsh, isn't it? Since when is it verboten to poke fun at BF "policies"? I think you need to acquire some perspective on all this.

Who (or what) is "broseph"?
 
Start my own forum? That's a little harsh, isn't it? Since when is it verboten to poke fun at BF "policies"? I think you need to acquire some perspective on all this.

Who (or what) is "broseph"?

If the tongue smiley didn't give it away, I was just kidding around. "Broseph" is joke-slang for "bro" (intended to rhyme with the name "Joseph"), short for "brother", synonym with "buddy" or "friend". :-O
 
If the tongue smiley didn't give it away, I was just kidding around. "Broseph" is joke-slang for "bro" (intended to rhyme with the name "Joseph"), short for "brother", synonym with "buddy" or "friend". :-O

Fair enough. I'm not particularly "smiley literate", I'm afraid, and sometimes find it difficult to tell whether or not they're being used passive-aggressively. All the best.
 
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Not sure why it is such a big deal to put the location down ?:h?: Personally I don't like the "box of chocolates " theory of posting ID's.
 
Not sure why it is such a big deal to put the location down ?:h?: Personally I don't like the "box of chocolates " theory of posting ID's.

I agree. It is a simple, easy to comply with request. Seeking to suppress the request is arguably more "anal-retentive" than making it.

Best,
Jim
 
I agree, location helps in determining a bird's identity but you've got to understand that a newbie looking for an i d is daunted enough when they come upon BF. It's a huge forum. Come on. Think back to when you first joined. ;) Most regulars now seem to adhere to the request of location but you really have to cut some slack on the newbies.
 
I agree, location helps in determining a bird's identity but you've got to understand that a newbie looking for an i d is daunted enough when they come upon BF. It's a huge forum. Come on. Think back to when you first joined. ;) Most regulars now seem to adhere to the request of location but you really have to cut some slack on the newbies.

yeah - I hear that. But I doubt it is just a newbie thing.:smoke:
LOL - deja vu ..? All over again...?:eek!:
 
I agree, location helps in determining a bird's identity but you've got to understand that a newbie looking for an i d is daunted enough when they come upon BF. It's a huge forum. Come on. Think back to when you first joined. ;) Most regulars now seem to adhere to the request of location but you really have to cut some slack on the newbies.

I am not sure where this statement is coming from. Nobody is suggesting newbies be chastised or scolded or singled out or hung by their thumbs for not putting the location in the thread title. There is simply a desire to inform them of the policy -- just as you gently inform people of the law when they ask what to do with baby or injured birds.

Moreover, the point of putting the location in the thread title is not to assist in identifying the bird. That would be accomplished just as well by putting the location in the body of the text. The point is to make it easier for people to better navigate to thread topics they might want to contribute to.

Best,
Jim
 
Mr. Moore said:
Seeking to suppress the request is arguably more "anal-retentive" than making it.

Best,
Jim

Possibly so (though I'd be curious to hear this argument), but no one here wants to "suppress the request". As far as I can see the furthest that anyone's gone on this & the other thread is to laugh at all the solemn fuss some people have been making over this trifling matter.
 
Ah, but seldom does someone who is inquiring what to do with a baby bird seldom comes back after there question has been answered so we know to try and give them the best possible answer for the short term and hopefully instill in them to leave nature well enough alone in most cases.

All I'm trying to get across here is that we cater to nature lovers of all levels so sometimes patience is a virtue here and much appreciated by a new comer.
 
Possibly so (though I'd be curious to hear this argument), but no one here wants to "suppress the request". As far as I can see the furthest that anyone's gone on this & the other thread is to laugh at all the solemn fuss some people have been making over this trifling matter.

Just a simple request I thought ! And a good one at that. I like laughing about it too though!;)
 
All I'm trying to get across here is that we cater to nature lovers of all levels so sometimes patience is a virtue here and much appreciated by a new comer.

And hope that if they've come this far in and are reading these threads discussing the minutae of how a****** retentive or not it is to talk about whether newbies should . . oops I'm doing it as well . . .

Anyway, agree, also hope that those who might be inclined to stick around do so and don't get put off too much. ;)

:t:
 
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