[teamsaint]

Was looking at a thread about the 5000th bird being put in the database and it was called the Tawny-crowned Pygmy Tyrant. Now that's a long name, can anyone beat it.

[Vultur]

Originally Posted by teamsaint

Was looking at a thread about the 5000th bird being put in the database and it was called the Tawny-crowned Pygmy Tyrant. Now that's a long name, can anyone beat it.

What about Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler?
Tawny-crowned Pygmy Tyrant = 23 letters
Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler = 29 letters

[cuckooroller]

In absolute there are longer, but don't know if in the DB or not, e.g. Chestnut-necklaced Hill Partridge. The longest scientific binomen is I believe Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristatus. The longest scientific trinomen, no surprise here, Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristatus aurantioatrocristatus.

[Kentbloke]

Donaldson-Smith's Sparrow-Weaver = 28 - bahh!

[Xenospiza]

Southern Blue-eared Glossy-Starling (count them!) must be the longest official name (for a species).
In the first Sibley & Monroe list I ever found online the slot for the English names was measured by this one.

[cuckooroller]

Xeno,
You win! Mine was only 28 anyway.

[Xenospiza]

This one is also bad: Stuhlmann’s Double-collared Sunbird (may not have been in Sibley and Monroe?)

[Jane Turner]

Although antiquated (and I'm beyond checking up what it is called these days)

how about
Lesser White-tailed Leaf Warbler

28

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I remember some of the names in Peter Scott's 'A coloured key to the wildfowl of the world' were rather lengthy, although I think most were subspecies. East Indian Wandering Whistling Duck always used to amuse me:32 letters!

[ensis]

Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer = 28 letters

Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush = 29

[jocateme]

Northern Tawny-bellied Screech Owl has 30 letters.

Southern Blue-eared Glossy-Starling = 31 - Xeno
Stuhlmann’s Double-collared Sunbird = 31 - Xeno
Chestnut-necklaced Hill Partridge = 30 - Cuckoo

East Indian Wandering Whistling Duck is indeed a subspecies (Dendrocygna arcuata arcuata), from the Wandering Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna arcuata).

Nice thread!

[jocateme]

Southern Tawny-bellied Screech Owl has the same number of letters (naturally), but that's not important. Just posted this to say that there are two links to this bird in the Database .

Northern Chestnut-tailed Antbird = 30
Southern Yellow-rumped Seedeater = 30

[Larry Wheatland]

I think you might have to go as far back as Peters for these :

Greater scaly-breasted Wren-Babbler (31) and my favourite of all time , Chinese Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler (34). Tragic losses to the birding world those two names !

Also has anyone noticed that Cretzschmar's Bunting sports 6 consecutive consonants ?

[birderbf]

I believe one of the longest in the US is the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, which only has twenty seven letters.

[dantheman]

What about single barrelled (if allowed in these days of name changes) or double barrelled names?

[Akekeke]

How about the shortest bird name, I think it would be hard even to tie our Hawaiian name for the Brown, Red-footed and Masked boobies -- in Hawaiian they are: 'A
beat that!

[Larry Wheatland]

Originally Posted by Akekeke

How about the shortest bird name, I think it would be hard even to tie our Hawaiian name for the Brown, Red-footed and Masked boobies -- in Hawaiian they are: 'A
beat that!

Can't beat it , but Peter's World Bird checklist includes Ou (from Hawaii)

[Jane Turner]

The recently split Cachar Hills Wedge-billed Wren-Babbler has a magnificent 33 and two hyphens!

[Gentoo]

I don't know if we can use old names or not but the three-toed woodpeckers could rank in there. Northern Three-toed Woodpecker 27 and Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker 30. This could be why the AOU changed them

[Cyclops]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

I don't know if we can use old names or not but the three-toed woodpeckers could rank in there. Northern Three-toed Woodpecker 27 and Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker 30. This could be why the AOU changed them

How about semi-palmated white crowned waffling Finch!

[AmpelisChinito]

The Three-toed Woodpecker's name has been changed to the American Three-toed Woodpecker, so that ties the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow with 27 letters.

[Eranou]

I you're allowed latinized names then 'Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristatus' or Crowned Slaty Flycatcher may be the longest at 35 letters long?

[Vultur]

So, it looks like our records are:

Common names:

World (current): Cachar Hills Wedge-billed Wren-Babbler (33)
World (former): Chinese Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler (34)

ABA Area breeder: Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow and American Three-toed Woodpecker (tied at 27)

Europe breeder: Unknown


Scientific names:

Binomen: Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristatus (35)
Trinomen: Griseotyrannus aurantioatrocristatus aurantioatrocristatus (56)


... so, we still need the longest European breeder.

[birderbf]

I think it may be a three way tie for the ABA one: try Northern Beardless-Tyrranulet!

[StuartReeves]

I think its name has now been ruthlessly truncated now, but Ali & Ripley's old Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent gives the English name for Dinopium shorii as "Himalayan Goldenbacked Threetoed Woodpecker". I make that 40!

As a postscript, a check in the Grimskipp guide reveals that this fine beast now goes under the much less informative handle of Himlayan Flameback.