Assistance with basic bird etymology (4 Viewers)

[solifuge]

Wow that's fantastic!
Thanks SO much and I will definitely add this info to the chapter I am including dealing with 'local experts' - currently occupied by Klaas of cuckoo fame and Kalinde Musiko.
Because I want to bring in a number of other crosscutting elements - conservation, gender, the reliability of historical records, colonialism - I am also including in this chapter material to do with ethics: the need to collect dead specimens in order to verify identification, for example. An issue that I recall has been in the news recently with regard to another bird (details escape me right now).
I also found a nice translation of the Le Vaillant content to do with his friend, Klaas so I am getting there. Are we using Levaillant or a different version - it seems there are a number of iterations used interchangeably?
And of course I can use the Abidin/Abdim debate to discuss the difficulties of carrying out research/using translated materials.
Every time I start to lose motivation, someone on this thread inspires me over again.
M
PS By way of perhaps helping a tiny bit in return for all the assistance I have got so far, 'Baster', though a translation of 'bastard' at some point in history no doubt is, in fact, the correct and proudly-used name for a discrete community of indigenous people of mixed ancestry. In Namibia they are so separate from other local communities in terms of culture that they still even have their own laws. More info can be found at: http://rehobothbasters.org/

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

... An issue that I recall has been in the news recently with regard to another bird (details escape me right now).

Here

... Are we using Levaillant or a different version - it seems there are a number of iterations used interchangeably? ...

Levaillant is the version we use.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Archey Demery's (African Yellow) White-eye

"Solifuge" alt. "'M",
I don´t know if you´re still looking, but here´s another local African collector that I happened to stumble upon while checking some bird's collected/described by the Swizz zoologist and collector Büttikofer [Johann Büttikofer (1850–1927)] ... this time we´re talking about ...

demeryi as in:
• the subspecies Zosterops senegalensis demeryi BÜTTIKOFER 1890 (here) as "Zosterops demeryi":

This species , which I propose to name after its discoverer, differs from the allied ...

From the introduction of the same paper (p.197):

After having spent nine months' time in our Museum , and thoroughly prepared and fit out to carry on my own investigations , Mr. A. T. Demery, the son of my Liberian huntsman Jackson Demery , left for his mother-country in August last year. Immediately after his arrival he went at work and has sent since, amongst many other objects, two small collections of birds from different parts of the district of Grand Cape Mount in Western Liberia. Many of the birds have been collected in the vicinity of Robertsport, others on the Johny Creek (a confluent of the Fisherman Lake), and others again at Jarjee, a Golah Town some days travel in the Interior up the Mahfa River. As, besides the two new Zosterops several of the 87 or 88 collected species are new for Liberia , and others being rare or of some interest in another way , I consider it sufficiently important to bring forward a full list of them , the more so as Mr. Demery, in January last, has left Liberia for the Sulymah River in the British Colony of Sierra Leone. ...

= the local Liberian naturalist, collector and guide Archey Demery (who died in early autumn, 1891), whose full name was Archey Thomas Demery, Son of Jackson Demery (friend and companion of Büttikofer), a friendship and companionship inherited by the Son, also "an energetic naturalist" (The Ibis 1893), collector in Liberia and Sierra Leone ... etc. etc..

Obituary here or here. And, on top of that, a photo (!) of the Demery Family, from about 1886, is found here (p.xxxix).

Maybe something additional is found in the newspaper Leidish Dagblad, from November 1892 (here, first page, first column, to the left) ... that is, of course, if you understand Dutch ...?

However; enjoy!
---

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

"Solifuge" alt. "'M", like I wrote, two weeks ago, "I don´t know if you´re still looking" ...

However ... here´s another African guy that I came across searching various African explorers ... that you might find it worth looking at, the almost unknown Mr. Lett (fl. 1911) hunter, landlord, assistant taxidermist to Büttikofer (and others), owner of a House (i.e. a sort of Hunting station) along the Junk River at Schieffelinsville [most likely today's Township of Schieffelin (Ville/town), Marshall Territory], Liberia, who at times housed explorers and collectors such as Schweizer, Schomburgk, Stampfli, Jackson and Büttikofer ... as well as others I assume (whomever paid the rent!). In the words of Schomburgk he was "... an old American mulatto" in 1911.

Mr. Lett is commemorated in:

lettii as in:
• Maned Owl Jubula lettii BÜTTIKOFER 1889 (here) as "Bubo letti":

... , which I propose to name Bubo lettii, after its discoverer Mr. Lett, our former landlord and huntsman at Schieffelinsville.

Also see here (p.284):

Our landlord, Mr. Lett, whom we only saw most rarely, was a former servant of Schweitzer, the zoological collector from Stettin, who ...

Original text, here, (in German):

Unser Hausherr, Mr. Lett, den wir im Ganzen sehr wenig zu sehen bekamen, war ein früherer Diener des Stettiner Naturalien-sammlers Schweizer, welcher sich einige Zeit auf diesem Platze zu Sammelzwecken aufgehalten und hier ein eigenes Haus besessen hatte. Er konnte ganz gut präpariren, doch machte er so hohe Ansprüche an meine Kasse, dass ich von seinen Diensten als Jäger und Präparator absehen musste. Es stellten sich jedoch bald einige junge Leute ein, die mit von uns geliehenen Gewehren auf die Jagd giengen und uns zu festgestellten Preisen ihre Beute verkauften.

Also see the following links; here and here. A Plate of the (very maned indeed) Owl is found here (in-between pp.128 and 129), and I guess Mr. Lett's House is this one (here)!

Either way, needed or not, useful or not; enjoy!

Björn
---

 

[Taphrospilus]

The also mentioned Naturalienhändler Schweizer died in Stettin 1878. See here. Looks no bird was dedicated to him.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

A quote is a quote ...

James, minor typos in the quote below (in today's HBW Alive Key):

lettii
“after its discoverer Mr Lett, our former landlord and huntsman at Schieffelins-ville [, Junk River, Liberia]” (Büttikofer 1889) (Jubula).

= ... Mr. Lett ... and there´s no hyphen in Schieffelinsville ...

Other than thats nothing else to add, more than whats already been said in post #44.

 

[solifuge]

Thanks for your continued efforts on my part!
I am still labouring away on this, in between other assignments. The online research and fact-checking is time consuming (as I know you know already) and often results in having to re-write - or jettison altogether - great chunks of text and abandon ideas that I thought initially were going to be productive!
The chapter I am working on right now deals with 'Family and friends'. Many, many Namibian birds have the same few surnames in some part of their names: Burchell, Temminck etc. I have found scientific names that have been given by a scientist working in Europe who simply gave the bird the name of the person that discovered it (Monteiro's hornbill for example?) and sent on a specimen. But were any Namibian birds specifically named by someone to commemorate a friend I wonder?

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

... But were any Namibian birds specifically named by someone to commemorate a friend I wonder?

I´m pretty sure there must be quite a few examples, but no one that I spontaneously can remember.

Good luck finding also those!

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

The abdimii issue continues in a separate, brand new thread: Abdim's alt. Ab(i)din's Stork ... !?

Feel free to join in!

 

[solifuge]

Thanks to everyone who continues to have me in their minds after all this time!
The book is still in development limbo. I have to reconceptualise it because every book shop is filled with dumbed-down books that have basically been cobbled together by general-interest authors with access to the internet but no specialised skills. I was recently given a book on birds as a gift that was filled with lots of 'fun factoids' of very little use and many incorrect bits of basic info .....
So I have had a bit of a crisis of confidence since I am very keen indeed not to produce something similarly worthless - the material from Bird Forum has been, of course, of inestimable value but the content I picked up online to fill it out was of variable quality and I haven't the resources to backstop everything I find there.
In fact the 'Abdim' labyrinthine debate is an object lesson in the dangers of picking out a bit of information and trying to come up with a definitive piece of material. So for the time being I am parking this book until I can find a way to make it a much better product.

 

[Taphrospilus]

monteiri/monteiroi

I place it here as it fits to Africa. No doubt on the key without checking deeper. I just wondering why here call him

...also known as Jose Maria Correa Monterio

?

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

That's about the most odd choice (of place/thread) I've seen, Martin ...

Note that Mr Monteiro [none of them] was neither born in Africa, nor was he [or they] of African (or even Namibian) origin, which was the very reason for this particular thread, started by "solifuge" (back in 2016). Why didn't you start a new thread, like you've done countless times before? Or searched this forum itself, before you posted it? The latter would have saved you both time and concern ...

However, for your question, regarding the "Jose Maria Correa [i.e. Corrêa] Monteiro" part, see post #1 (No 5), in the even older thread Some additional etymological information – Part II (here, from back in 2014). See the part "Not to be confused (which has been done) ..."

Disclaimer: This said with the additional explanation that I today (in my somewhat expanded MS) now have him, the proper guy, as: Joaquim João Monteiro, same years (in English texts/contexts a k a Joachim John ditto), and onwards ... His book Angola and the river Congo (in English, in two volumes, 1875), here.

Cheers!

Björn

PS. Not to be confused with the guy commemorated in the debated, species (or subspecies) Monteiro's Storm-petrel (Thalobata) Oceanodroma (castro?) monteiroi BOLTON, et al 2008 a k a "Monteiro Storm-Petrel" (see No.6).
--

 

[Taphrospilus]

For some unknown reason I did not find your thread on him but found the old African one. Therefore I thought fits with Angola to Africa. Probably because of:

I have found scientific names that have been given by a scientist working in Europe who simply gave the bird the name of the person that discovered it (Monteiro's hornbill for example?) and sent on a specimen. But were any Namibian birds specifically named by someone to commemorate a friend I wonder?

 

[Taphrospilus]

"Solifuge" alt. "'M", like I wrote, two weeks ago, "I don´t know if you´re still looking" ...

However ... here´s another African guy that I came across searching various African explorers ... that you might find it worth looking at, the almost unknown Mr. Lett (fl. 1911) hunter, landlord, assistant taxidermist to Büttikofer (and others), owner of a House (i.e. a sort of Hunting station) along the Junk River at Schieffelinsville [most likely today's Township of Schieffelin (Ville/town), Marshall Territory], Liberia, who at times housed explorers and collectors such as Schweizer, Schomburgk, Stampfli, Jackson and Büttikofer ... as well as others I assume (whomever paid the rent!). In the words of Schomburgk he was "... an old American mulatto" in 1911.

Mr. Lett is commemorated in:

lettii as in:
• Maned Owl Jubula lettii BÜTTIKOFER 1889 (here) as "Bubo letti": Also see here (p.284): Original text, here, (in German): Also see the following links; here and here. A Plate of the (very maned indeed) Owl is found here (in-between pp.128 and 129), and I guess Mr. Lett's House is this one (here)!

Either way, needed or not, useful or not; enjoy!

Björn
---

The Eponym Dictionary of Birds claims:

Mr Lett was a resident of Liberia (1911) and we know little more about him other than Büttikofer's (q.v.) words that the owl was named '... after its discoverer Mr Lett, our former landlord and huntsman at Schieffelinsville' and that he was once a servant of Schweitzer, an explorer and ornithological collector from Stettin(Szczecin, Poland). Major Hans Schomburgk, who was in Liberia (1911–1912), recorded in his Zelte in Afrika. Eine Autobiographische Erzählung (1931) that he regarded Lett as a skilful hunter and taxidermist but that 'his financial demands were very high'.

So maybe give him a second try by Paul? Who he was at least I have no clue.

Here we can read:

Major Hans Schomburgk, “Das Zwergflußpferd, eine zoologische Neuheit,” Kosmos. Handweiser für Naturfreunde 2 (1913): 62–5. In 1911, the same Mr. Lett worked with Schomburgk during his successful expedition to capture the first Pygmy Hippos (by pit trapping) for German animal dealer Carl Hagenbeck. Schomburgk's military title was obtained from the Liberian government.

Here

In Sheffeliensville I got the first news of Pygmy Hippos. Mr. Lett, an American mulatto, who had been a hunter with the Buttikofer expedition, gave me the assurance that the Pygmy Hippo existed on the upper part of the Duquea River, while his big cousin, the "Kiboko" of East Africa, only frequented the rivers near the coast.

 

[PScofield]

Christof Columbus Lett
Residence	Liberia, Liberia
Birth	abt 1854

 

[Taphrospilus]

This record confirms somehow the American mulatto (but with a touch of racism).

 

[l_raty]

"Bisheriger Stand oder Beruf" -- "Farmer" ?

 

[Taphrospilus]

Nope. Lett (Neger).

 

[l_raty]

Nope...

Yes, seen this as well.
I was merely trying to extract as much info as could be extracted from the record -- I can read that he was 52 (on a form dated 10 Aug 1906, thus indeed born about 1854), was a man, resided in Liberia (Liberia), and was travelling alone to Monrovia; but I had a slight hesitation about the word that appears in the 'Stand / Beruf' column (hence the question mark -- sorry if it wasn't clear).