What's in a Name? (1 Viewer)

M

Malvolio

Well-known member

• Jul 6, 2003

• #21

In the event of a future split of Larus canus the names Short-billed Mew Gull (L. brachyrhynchus ) and Long-billed Mew Gull (L. canus) would be sufficient to distinguish these forms while accurately describing them. Vagrant cnus to the eastern seaboard of N. Am tend to get called European Mew Gulls but as the species extends right across the palearctic 'European' is as inaccurate as Asiatic as a name. if the east Asiatic subspecies was raised to species status it would presumably retain ii's current colloquial name of Kamchatka Gull.

Common Gull is a hideously inappropriate name over most of the species vast range.

That said, so long as the scientific names are stable it doesn't really matter what birds are called locally-at least so long as everyone knows what is being referred to.

Anyone for 'Locally Abundant At Times Gull'
MV

 

Michael Frankis

conehead

• Jul 6, 2003

• #22

Hi Darrell,

Up here, Commons outnumber ALL other gulls put together by 3:1 . . . so as a name, Common Gull is perfectly correct!

Of course Common Gulls are hardy birds, they don't need to go down to your soft southwestern climate

Michael

 

Michael Frankis

conehead

• Jul 6, 2003

• #23

Hi MV,

"Long-billed Mew Gull"

What a dreadful mouthful!

I'm going to stick with Common Gull. Perfectly appropriate, certainly far more so than the BOU's 'Common Nightingale' which is anything but common in English-speaking areas.

Michael

 

H

HH75

Well-known member

• Jul 7, 2003

• #24

Hi Michael,
Black-headeds are almost super-abundant down here in winter,being commonly seen in city centres,on playing fields,farms,beaches,lakes etc.
Commons aren't RARE,just a lot rarer than BH Gull.Maybe LBB Gull is commoner than Common in winter,but with the demise of the local dump etc I very much doubt it now.Herring has declined greatly.
Re:"Of course Common Gulls are hardy birds, they don't need to go down to your soft southwestern climate "
this may apply for here too,but then we DO get counts of 20+ Med.Gulls regularly at Cobh in the winter,so I reckon that's a fair trade-off...;-)
Darrell,"The Irish are only Englishmen who can swim":
Nah,different stock altogether,although what with successive invasions by the Vikings,Normans and English in the past these differences will have been diluted,and of course we share(due to history)a common language.Thought you as a Cornishman would understand?;-)
Harry H

 

Edward

Umimmak

• Jul 7, 2003

• #25

Has any British/Irish birder started to use the abominable bastardised term Great Northern Loon as set out in Collins?
Great Northern Diver in Europe and Common Loon in NA, fine. But why mix and match? And why is the Slavonian Grebe so called? To my knowledge there isn't anywhere in the world called Slavonia (he says preparing to be corrected).

E

 

N

Nick-on

Well-known member

• Jul 7, 2003

• #26

What do you mean,? Never heard of Slavonia.

Well neither had I but that nice man Google has, see link below, apparently it's Croatia or Hungary or somewhere 'abroad'. Feel free to feel corrected!

http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/ESE/dsslawon.html

 

Edward

Umimmak

• Jul 7, 2003

• #27

Splendid. And I'm someone who reckons they're pretty good at geography!
Question: Do Slavonian Grebes breed in Slavonia any more than Iceland Gulls breed in Iceland?

E

 

HokkaidoStu

occasional moderator

Staff member

Supporter

• Jul 7, 2003

• #28

Hi Edward-no I just can't seem to use the word 'loon' either.......but as an exile where most of the ex-pats are from North America/Australasia I now find myself using terms like "sidewalk" or "gas station" so it might just be a matter of time......

Common Gull is not so common here either-there are at least 4 commoner ones in Hakodate at any given time of year. Interestingly in Japanese it's called "kamome' which just means "gull"... ( Glacous Gull is "shiro-kamome which means "white gull" for example and all the others are " something-kamome" ).

 

robinm

Registered User

• Jul 7, 2003

• #29

Salvonia is in the eastern part of Croatia. Why it has given its name to a grebe I will leave for other s to answer.

 

Michael Frankis

conehead

• Jul 7, 2003

• #30

Just the same as Bohemian Waxwings don't breed in Bohemia (Czech Republic), or Dartford Warblers at Dartford (Kent; though they did once), or Sandwich Terns at Sandwich (also Kent).

I also remember a comment in British Birds about someone asking where Pomarinia was (Pomarine Skua . . actually a shortening of 'Pomatorhine', which means 'plate-nosed' in Greek)

Michael

 

HokkaidoStu

occasional moderator

Staff member

Supporter

• Jul 7, 2003

• #31

slight change of subject......

Who is the Ornithologist who has had most birds named after him ( common UK/American English names). Pallas? Teminck?

 

birdman

Орнитол&

• Jul 7, 2003

• #32

I'm sure someone will put me right, but I reckon 32 personages have either had at least 4 species named after them, or named them after themselves, viz

Cassin's - 9
Blyth's - 8
Rueppell's - 8
Finsch's - 7
Salvadori's - 7
Sharpe's - 7
Temminck's - 7
Gould's - 6
Shelley's - 6
Swainson's - 6
Swinhoe's - 6
Wallace's - 6
Bannerman's - 5
Fischer's - 5
Hume's - 5
Jerdon's - 5
Pallas's - 5
Sclater's - 5
Wilson's - 5
Baird's - 4
Bates's - 4
Bocage's - 4
Burchell's - 4
Chapin's - 4
Grauer's - 4
Hartlaub's - 4
Heuglin's - 4
Hodgson's - 4
Jackson's - 4
Tristram's - 4
Verreaux's - 4
Whitehead's - 4

 

Edward

Umimmak

• Jul 7, 2003

• #33

Birdman,

Tell me you just did that from memory, please. It'll make my day.

E

 

birdman

Орнитол&

• Jul 7, 2003

• #34

Of course...

 

T

tf1044x

Well-known member

• Jul 7, 2003

• #35

Birdman,
Who are these people are what are the names of the species

 

T

tf1044x

Well-known member

• Jul 7, 2003

• #36

Only joking Birdman.

 

Michael Frankis

conehead

• Jul 7, 2003

• #37

Trev,

They're a load of gunmen, and all the species were originally called "what the h*ck's this .... <BANG> .... ah!, got the b*stard!"

Michael

 

T

tf1044x

Well-known member

• Jul 7, 2003

• #38

Know where you are coming from Michael, I suppose it's just as well they weren't all good shots.

 

Charles Harper

Régisseur

• Jul 8, 2003

• #39

C'mon, Birdman-- 'fess up: is there a list somewhere, or did you sit down and count those?... or did your computer do it? And while you're in code mode, why not tell us the nine Cassin'ses?

 

B

Beverlybaynes

Mod Squad

• Jul 8, 2003

• #40

Hey, what about Steller?

Jay, Sea-Eagle.....I think there may be one or two more.....

Now if Michael could just discover a large German beer-drinking vessel-shaped bird, would we have a Frankis' Stein?