• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Saunders's Eastern Meadowlark (1 Viewer)

Björn Bergenholtz

Björn Bergenholtz

(former alias "Calalp")
Sweden
Additional info on ...

saundersi as in:
• the subspecies Sturnella magna saundersi DICKERMAN & PHILIPS 1970 (here, pp.308-309):
Remarks. We take great pleasure in dedicating this race to Dr. George B. Saunders, who has contributed much to our knowledge of Sturnella, ...
Click to expand...
... ought to be Dr. George B. Saunders (1907–2001), Ph.D. (1932); dissertation on a taxonomic revision on the meadowlarks, genus Sturnella ...

Obituary, in The Auk 118 (4): 1030-1031 (here).

Enjoy!

Björn
--
 
Last edited:
To be a little bit more precise George Bradford Saunders Jr. here

P.S. I am curious where the E. in the key of Howard E. Saunders derived from? I can find him always only as Howard Saunders.
 
Last edited:
Taphrospilus said:
P.S. I am curious where the E. in the key of Howard E. Saunders derived from? I can find him always only as Howard Saunders.
Click to expand...
No idea, Martin, in my MS, the earlier Mr. Saunders, is simply "Howard Saunders (1835–1907)", commemorated in Saunders's Gull (Larus/Saundersilarus) Chroicocephalus saundersi and Saunders's Tern (Sterna) Sternula (albifrons) saundersi.

As was he mentioned in Jobling, J. Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names (2010). Maybe James can explain the Key's added "E." ... ?
--
 
Last edited:
Keep groaning James ... ;) ... I don´t think you confused anything from Wynne 1969, I guess the "E." originated from Dwight 1926 (here) ... you quoted it yourself in the Key entry for SAUNDERSILARUS:
A New Name for Saundersia, Dwight.—The name Saundersia, recently employed by me for a subgenus in the Family Laridae (Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. LII, 1925, p. 81), is preoccupied in entomology, and therefore, is not available. To take its place I propose Saundersilarus after Mr. Howard E. Saunders + Larus.
Click to expand...
However, if Jonathan Dwight was correct in adding the "E.", or not, is unknown to me. But why would he "make it up"?

The preoccupied "Saundersia" DWIGHT 1925 is found here (pp.81-82):
I take pleasure in naming this subgenus after the late Mr. Howard Saunders who has made so many valuable contributions to our knowledge of Gulls.
Click to expand...
Thereby, this far, to be on the safe side, if nothing else (i.e. a full name) is added, I will keep him simply as "Howard Saunders" in my MS. He surely could have been "Howard E. Saunders", but better to be a bit short, and correct, than (even in the smallest part) wrong.

Björn
--
 
Last edited:
Continuation on Howard Saunders ...

Sigh, I thought this thread was a quick one, briefly dealing with (simply adding the years of) the US (George) Saunders commomorated in the Meadowlark subspecies ... but nono, in came the British banker, businessman and travelling Laridae-expert Howard Saunders ... forcing me to revisit my old notes:
Born in London, 16 September 1835, Son of Alexander and Elisabeth Saunders ... died; "... at his London residence, at 7 Radnor Place W., on October 20th, 1907, at the age of 72 years, after a long illness borne with the greatest fortitude."
Click to expand...
Obituaries; in The Geographical journal, 1907 (here, pp.669-670), British Birds, 1908 (here), The Ibis, 1909 (here) ... + an earlier Photo (here).

But still no "E." ...

Someone else who have found it? Elsewhere than in Dwight 1926?

/B
 
Nothing sensational new. Just what The Eponym Dictionary of Birds claims:
Eastern Meadowlark ssp Sturnella magna saundersi Dickerman & A. R. Phillips, 1970
Dr George B. Saunders (1907–2001) was an American ornithologist. He took his first degree at Oklahoma University, then his PhD at Cornell (1932). His doctoral dissertation was on the taxonomy of Sturnella and in their etymology the authors thank Saunders '... who has contributed much to our knowledge of Sturnella, and to whom we are indebted for helpful information on the more northern subspecies.' He went on an expedition to South Africa (1930) as a Research Fellow of the National Research Council and as Staff Ornithologist at the Michigan Department of Conservation. He joined the US Fish & Wildlife Service (1937) with which he spent the rest of his working life. He undertook several other fieldwork assignments, notably to Guatemala (1947–1948) as well as a number of trips to Mexico and throughout the US and Canada. He once said 'I believe that wildlife biologistsare among the happiest people to be found, especially if they have a wife who is also a biologist and shares their adventures in the field.'
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Warning! This thread is more than 3 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

Björn Bergenholtz
Some additional etymological information – Part VIII
2
Replies
36
Views
5K
l_raty
l_raty
Didier Godreau
Venezuela (North-East) - March 2007 - Bird List
Replies
0
Views
2K
Didier Godreau
Didier Godreau

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top