Some additional etymological information – Part VIII (1 Viewer)

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Here´s an eight list of some small additional information regarding the Etymology of ten various Bird Names that I´ve happened to stumble upon trying to understand various Swedish Bird Names … for your sake (as well as I can?) in English.

As far as I understand the etymology of following birds are:

No. 1 – willardi and davidwillardi in …
● the newly discovered Sooty Boubou Laniarius willardi VOELKER, OUTLAW, REDDY, TOBLER & BATES 2010
● the subspecies Heliodoxa xanthogonys willardi WELLER & RENNER 2001
● the hard-to-place subspecies Elaenia pallatangae/olivina davidwillardi DICKERMAN & PHELPS 1987
= the US ornithologist, collector, Custodian and Collection Manager as well as Curator (still today; of the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago) Dr. David E. Willard (circa 1947?– )

No. 2 – mazarbarnetti in:
● the newly described, this far called; "Cryptic Treehunter" Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti MAZAR BARNETT & BUZZETTI 2014
= the Argentinian traveller and Tour leader, but most of all ornithologist ("... one of the most talented ornithologists born in the Neotropics") Juan Mazar Barnett (1975–2012)

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in March 1975 ... that died 20 November 2012, far too early, at the age of 37.

See thread in our neighbouring Forum Bird Taxonomy and Nomenclature and their links to the type descrition itself: Mazar Barnett, J & D R C Buzzetti. A new species of Cichlocolaptes Reichenbach 1853 (Furnariidae), the ‘gritador-do-nordeste’, an undescribed trace of the fading bird life of northeastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 22 (2): pp. 75-94 ... and to the preceding article: Naka, L N. 2014. The legacy of Juan Mazar Barnett (1975–2012) to Neotropical ornithology. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 22 (2): pp. 63–74.

No. 3 – stotzi in …
● the newly discovered Aripuana Antwren Herpsilochmus stotzi WHITNEY et al. 2013 a k a "Aripuana-Ji-Parana Antwren"
= most likely the US ornithologist, ecologist and conservationist Douglas Forrester Stotz (1956– )

No. 4 – quartinia and "Quartini" in …
● the Yellow-bellied Waxbill (Coccopygia) Estrilda quartinia BONAPARTE 1850
● the invalid "Myrmecocichla Quartini" BONAPARTE 1854 (Synonymous to White-winged Cliff-chat Thamnolaea semirufa RÜPPELL 1837)
= the French botanist, physician, explorer, naturalist ("naturaliste du Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de Paris" and "voyageur du Jardin des Plantes") and collector (mostly of plants) Dr. Richard Quartin-Dillon (xxxx–1840), whose full name was Léon Richard Quartin-Dillon (sometimes, but not as often, his doubled surname was written without hyphen).

He participated in the first part, until he died, the 22nd of October 1840, during an Abyssinian expedition that lasted between (they left Europe in 1838) 1839 and 1843. His colleauge (also medical doctor, naturalist and collector) Antoine Petit (xxxx–1843)*, "almost" made it through! Mr. Petit lasted till the 3rd of June 1843 Their Scientific leader, the French Navy officer Charlemagne Théophile Lefebvre (1811–1860) had less problems.

*Not to be confused with the French naturalist Louis Petit (1856–1943), that collected in Congo in the 1870's and 1880's.

No. 5 – racheliae in …
● Rachel's Malimbe Malimbus racheliae CASSIN 1857
= Rachel Cassin (1844-xxxx) – daughter of US ornithologist John Cassin (1813–1869).

Born 18 August 1844 in Philadelphia. The 16th of April 1869 she married Thomas Campbell Davis, thereafter a k a "Rachel C. Davis". The Davis family where onwards living in Philadelphia, till at least June 1880 (according to US Census 1880) … but what happened after that I do not know.

No. 6 – matschiei in …
● the subspecies Poicephalus meyeri matschiei NEUMANN 1898
= the quite well-known "German" (alt. Prussian?) zoologist, taxonomist and ornithologist, Professor Paul Matschie (1861–1926), whose full name was; Georg Friedrich Paul Matschie.

He was born 11 August 1861 in Brandenburg an der Havel, (in at that time either Brandenburg or Prussia?), in today's Germany … and he died, the 7 March 1926, in Berlin. More about him; see Deusche Biographie or or Wikipedia in German or in English .

No. 7 – Scopoli's in …
● in the Common name Scopoli's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea SCOPOLI1769
= the Tyrolean (Italian-Austrian) naturalist physician Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723–1788) a k a Johannes Antonius Scopoli – who described it, thereby and thereafter it was "his".

Born 3 June 1723 in Cavalese, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige (Trentino-Südtirol), today North Italy) … and he died 8 May 1788, in Pavia, Lombardy, northern Italy.

No. 8 – lherminieri in …
● Audubons Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri LESSON 1839
= the French (Guadeloupean?) zoologist, ornithologist, bird anatomist and collector Ferdinand Joseph LʼHerminier (1802–1866)

He was born 20 June 1802 in Basse Terre, Guadeloupe ... and he died 11 December 1866 at Pointe à Petre, a few miles from his birthplace.

Not to be confused with his father the French pharmacist and naturalist Felix Louis LʼHerminier (1779-1833) who studied the flora and fauna on Guadeloupe between 1798 and 1829. For the "full story", see T.S. Palmer 1931, page 199. (Link here)

Type description: Lesson. 1839. Revue Zoologique par La Société Cuvierienne 2:102. Link to full volume (here). Note: There´s also an "Anthus Lherminieri" on p. 101!

No. 9 – gierowii in …
● Black Bishop Euplectes gierowii CABANIS 1880 a k a "Gierow's Bishop" or "Angola Black Bishop" (i. e. E. g. gierowii);
= the fairly unknown German architect, traveller and collector (of both Naturalia and ethnographical items) Paul Gierow (xxxx–xxxx).

Paul Gierow was born on the island Rügen (that belonged to Sweden 1648–1814, so he could, might have been of Swedish Heritage, as he´s been claimed to be Swedish in some sources?). Gierow travelled and collected in Angola – together with Otto Schütt (1843–1888)* on at least two Schüttsche Expeditionen; in 1877–1879 and 1881–1883. On the first Expedition they visited Melange (Melanje) twice, where the type specimen is collected. Cabanis described this species in Journal für Ornithologie 28: pp. 105-109, after he had examined the collections of the same Otto Schütt. On p. 106 he states that it is named after the companion of Mr. Schütt; the traveller G i e r o w". Link to full volume (here).

*commemorated in, for example; Black-billed Turaco Tauraco schuettii CABANIS 1879 as "Corythaix Schüttii"

No. 10 – bergii in …
● Greater Crested Tern (Sterna) Thalasseus bergii LICHTENSTEIN 1823
= the Prussian cavalryman, pharmacist, naturalist, traveller and collector (of both Plants and birds) Karl Heinrich Bergius (1790–1818) a k a (in English contexts) Carl Heinrich Bergius.

He was born 1790 in Cüstrin (Küstrin, today's Kostrzyn, in Poland) … and he died of tubercolosis in January 1818, in Cape Town, South Africa. More on him; see article on Wikipedia

Anyone of a different view?

Björn Bergenholtz, Stockholm, Sweden

PS. Don´t hesitate to prove me wrong. Any additional info regarding these etymologies are warmly welcomed! And; if I you feel like adding something, please clearly state which name you are commenting on … just to avoid confusion.

 

[Taphrospilus]

No. 1 – willardi and davidwillardi in …
● the newly discovered Sooty Boubou Laniarius willardi VOELKER, OUTLAW, REDDY, TOBLER & BATES 2010
● the subspecies Heliodoxa xanthogonys willardi WELLER & RENNER 2001
● the hard-to-place subspecies Elaenia pallatangae/olivina davidwillardi DICKERMAN & PHELPS 1987
= the US ornithologist, collector, Custodian and Collection Manager as well as Curator (still today; of the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago) Dr. David E. Willard (circa 1947?– )

Small update according here David Ela Willard with his Ph. D. thesis The feeding behavior and ecology of five species of herons at the Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge. The key may enhanced with this small detail.

According Wikipedia born 1946 (as in the key).

Take it for what's worth.

 

[Taphrospilus]

No. 5 – racheliae in …
● Rachel's Malimbe Malimbus racheliae CASSIN 1857
= Rachel Cassin (1844-xxxx) – daughter of US ornithologist John Cassin (1813–1869).

Born 18 August 1844 in Philadelphia. The 16th of April 1869 she married Thomas Campbell Davis, thereafter a k a "Rachel C. Davis". The Davis family where onwards living in Philadelphia, till at least June 1880 (according to US Census 1880) … but what happened after that I do not know.

Rachel Cassin Davis (1844-1922) according here:

Death 30 Oct 1922 (aged 78)
Lansdowne, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA

P.S. Exact birth date here 19 Aug 1844

 

[Taphrospilus]

No. 3 – stotzi in …
● the newly discovered Aripuana Antwren Herpsilochmus stotzi WHITNEY et al. 2013 a k a "Aripuana-Ji-Parana Antwren"
= most likely the US ornithologist, ecologist and conservationist Douglas Forrester Stotz (1956– )

Correct. See here.

Etymology.— We are pleased to name this antwren for Douglas F. Stotz, who discovered the bird in 1986. Doug’s keen field skills combined with extensive experience as a collections-based ornithologist and a natural ability to work well with others have brought him a particularly enlightened perspective on the study of Neotropical birds; his influence has been greatly appreciated by colleagues both at home and across South America. Doug has been involved in conservation-oriented research at the Field Museum in Chicago, USA, since 1994 and is currently ECCo Senior Conservation Ecologist.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Martin, that stotzi commemorate "Douglas F. Stotz" is pretty obvious (from the OD, that I´d naturally read), the "most likely" part was about if he's equal of the ornithologist, ecologist and conservationist (with the middle name Forrester), born in -56. That part wasn't told by Whitney et al. But I would think so. There couldn't be that many guys in the same field, with the same (or a similar) name, ... or, could it?

However, well done finding Rachel's (Cassin/Davis) death/grave! :t:

/B

 

[Taphrospilus]

No. 9 – gierowii in …

*commemorated in, for example; Black-billed Turaco Tauraco schuettii CABANIS 1879 as "Corythaix Schüttii"

The key might need enhancement Otto Heinrich Schütt (1843-1888).

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

More, for anyone interested, on "Der Kartograf Otto H. Schütt", by Uwe Iben, here (orginally published in Zwischen Eider und Wiedau, 2008).

Enjoy!

/B

 

[Taphrospilus]

More, for anyone interested, on "Der Kartograf Otto H. Schütt", by Uwe Iben, here (orginally published in Zwischen Eider und Wiedau, 2008).

Enjoy!

/B

OK in this case Benedictus Ludwig Heinrich Otto Schütt.:eat:

 

[Taphrospilus]

No. 4 – quartinia and "Quartini" in …
● the Yellow-bellied Waxbill (Coccopygia) Estrilda quartinia BONAPARTE 1850
● the invalid "Myrmecocichla Quartini" BONAPARTE 1854 (Synonymous to White-winged Cliff-chat Thamnolaea semirufa RÜPPELL 1837)
= the French botanist, physician, explorer, naturalist ("naturaliste du Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de Paris" and "voyageur du Jardin des Plantes") and collector (mostly of plants) Dr. Richard Quartin-Dillon (xxxx–1840), whose full name was Léon Richard Quartin-Dillon (sometimes, but not as often, his doubled surname was written without hyphen).

But here

Mort de fiévre intermittent en 1841, à Abar Sim'ika, province de Chiré.

Where is the date 22nd of October 1840 from? OK here

M. Dillon y succomba le 22 octubre 1840

 

[Taphrospilus]

In The Eponym Dictionary of Birds we can find two entries about him:

Dillon's Eagle Owl Bubo capensis dillonii des Murs & Prévost, 1846 [Alt. Cape Eagle Owl ssp.]
Speckled Pigeon ssp. Columba guinea dilloni Bonaparte, 1854 NCR [NUI Columba guinea guinea]
Dr Léon Richard Quartin-Dillon (d.1840) was a physician, botanist and explorer in Ethiopia (1839-1940). He died of an illness and one of his collecting partners, Antoine Petit, was taken and drowned by a crocodile in the Tacazze River (1843). The botanical genus Quartinia is named after him.

Yellow-bellied Waxbill Coccopygia quartinia Bonaparte, 1850 [Alt. Yellow-bellied Swee; Syn. Estrilda quartinia]
Dr Leon Richard Quartin-Dillon (d.1840) was a physician and botanist. Another naturalist and physician, Dr Petit, accompanied him on a French government-sponsored scientific expedition to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). They travelled widely there (1839–1840), but Quartin-Dillon died and Petit became gravely ill. Despite this and further deaths (including Petit 1841) the expedition as a whole continued before returning to France (1843).

His birth is still a mystery. By the way the same for Antoine Petit for whom Achille Richard named several plants e.g. Polygala petitiana. The crocodile catched him June 3 , 1843. As well an insect Cicindela Petitii (Guerin-Meneville, 1845) seems named after him.

 

[PScofield]

Ricardo Leão Quartin Dillon

Birth	1811 Lisboa, Portugal
Death	8 Sep 1842 Abissínia, África

Father	Pedro Manuel de Ahumada Quartin (1789-1878)

Mother	Mª Bárbara de Cabrera Gusmão Henriques Ayala (1792-1860)

 

[Taphrospilus]

Makes him Portuguese?

 

[PScofield]

Sim - Ele é tão português quanto o Ronaldo!

 

[Taphrospilus]

Just curious do you have the birth date of Antoine Petit as well? I know not relevant for birds but for natural history.

 

[PScofield]

Better people than me have looked for Antoine Petit's origins for 150 years. What I have found is that they agree on the date of his death (3rd of June 1843) but there is disagreement about how and where he died with some accounts saying the Abay (Blue Nile) some saying the Nile and most saying the Tekezé River . All are admittedly tributes of the same system but it makes you wonder. Also, most say he died eaten by a crocodile but 1-2 from the 1840s say he simply drowned.

 

[Taphrospilus]

He seems relevant in bird names as well Oryx petiti or Loxia (Euplectes) petiti probably a synonym of Euplectes hordeaceus. So I disagree to The Key to Scientific Names.

Louis Petit (1856-1943) French naturalist, collector in Cabinda Enclave and the lower Congo 1876-1884 (Campephaga, syn. Euplectes hordeaceus, syn. Himantornis haematopus, subsp. Psalidoprocne pristoptera, syn. Pternistis squamatus).

We might find in this volume more about his death (first hand)? From the botanical part from Achille Richard here we know...

Antonii Petit Doctorum e Facultate Medicinae Parisiensi. Rerum Naturalium Indefessorum Indagatorum

So he was at the University of Paris to make his doctor. Anyway Richard wrote death Nile here and this seems first hand information. But I must admit from here that Mota where they have been 2. June 1843 is on the Blue Nile and Richard may a little bit inaccurate.

 

[PScofield]

So we know that they were travelling from Mota to Gondar. They would have to cross the Blue Nile at the outlet of Lake Tana at a town called Bahir Dar. But that is where things get a bit suspicious. This expedition would have had dozens of retainers and horses or camels. They would have been ferried across the river in a fleet of small boats. Seems really unlikely a crocodile ate Petit.

I also wonder if Richard really knew anything about Petit. Are we sure he didn't confuse him with this guy.

 

[l_raty]

There is an actual first-hand account by Théophile Lefebvre in this.

They did not cross at Bahir Dar, but somewhere directly close to Mota. (The itinerary described by Lefebvre was Mota (Motta) - Chimé-Guiorguis (Shime) - Madera Mariam (Mahdere Mariam) - Oueréta (Wereta) - Ifague (Yifag) - Feurkabeur (Fercaber) - Zengadje (?) - Gondar. Thus from Mota, they crossed the river and headed NNE. See the map here for some of these names.) Lefebvre described it as a place where the Nile was narrow and deep, and where the Portuguese had formerly built a bridge, which had since been destroyed by the Abyssinians.

 

[Taphrospilus]

I also wonder if Richard really knew anything about Petit. Are we sure he didn't confuse him with this guy.

I have seen him but was he ever in Abyssinie? My answer is no. And who knows if this happened on a boat. Why not at the shore of the Blue Nil? Like this young buffolo here. The lucky one.

 

[l_raty]

Lefebvre 1845:

Pendant une heure nous suivîmes une plaine qui laissait à découvert, dans la direction du sud, les pays montagneux d'Eneubsié ; puis nous commençames à descendre vers le Nil, en nous abaissant par gradins successifs, comme nous l'avions déjà fait à notre première traversée ; mais ici la pente était beaucoup moins rapide, les gradins plus larges et plus multipliés. Le premier a le nom d'Agamoa ; à droite et à gauche, les flancs des deux plateaux qui encaissent le Nil dessinaient à nos yeux les déchirures d'un sol violemment tourmenté par l'action volcanique. A l'endroit où nous atteignîmes le fleuve, ses bords sont très-rapprochés ; d'une roche à l'autre les Portugais avaient autrefois construit un pont qui reposait sur une seule arche, et dont les extrémités étaient garnies de déversoirs pour les grandes crues. L'arche a été rompue par les Abyssins, et comme en cet endroit le lit du fleuve est très profond, on est obligé, pour faire passer les bagages, de les attacher à des lanières tenues aux deux bords, et qu’on tire de l'un à l'autre. C'est ainsi que nous fîmes passer les nôtres. Je surveillai cette opération, tandis que Petit écrivait à l'ombre d'un sycomore, et elle était presque terminée lorsque, sans me prévenir, il se leva et descendit la rive. Je lui demandai ce qu'il allait faire ; il me répondit qu'il allait gagner un endroit moins escarpé et où les mules avaient déjà passé. Je l'engageai à traverser dans le lieu où j'étais, en s'aidant des lanières, ou bien à m'attendre ; mais il ne tint compte de cet avis, malgré mon insistance, et continua son chemin. Quelque temps après un de ses domestiques vint me prévenir qu'il était passé. J'activais le transbordement des bagages pour aller le rejoindre, lorsqu'un grand cri, un cri arraché de l'âme me glaça d'effroi. Je m'élancai aussitôt ; je ne trouvai plus sur la rive que deux nègres, et le domestique de confiance qui me dit que Petit, après avoir fait passer ses vêtements par un de ses hommes, qui atteignit rapidement le bord opposé, s'était lui-même mis à l'eau, soutenu par les deux nègres ; qu'il touchait presque au rivage, lorsque tout à coup il avait poussé un cri de douleur, en étendant les bras, et s'était immédiatement enfoncé dans l'eau pour ne plus reparaître. Ils ne doutaient pas qu'un crocodile n'eût saisi par les jambes mon infortuné compagnon, qui, par cette circonstance qu'il s'appuyait sur deux bons nageurs, les avait pendantes, tandis que ceux-ci avaient le corps presque à fleur d'eau.
Ce qui justifiait cette supposition, c'est qu'on n'avait aperçu aucun mouvement dans l'eau, aucune des convulsions d'un homme qui se noie : la surface était restée claire et unie.

This was directly after they had left Motta. Either the above text is a complete lie, or the river was definitely the Blue Nile, and there were no boats of any kind; things happened out of Lefebvre's sight; Petit apparently attempted to swim across the river, being helped by two locals, who subsequently told that, while approaching the opposite bank, he suddenly started screaming, raised his arms, then disappeared under the water and did not resurface.

There is indeed a broken Portuguese bridge on the Blue Nile due N of Motta, here.
It now looks like this, but crossings formerly used to look like that.
Lefebvre described "his" bridge as single-arched, however, which this bridge is not.