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Capitalization of Common Bird Names? (1 Viewer)

Why is the last example not 'Silky Flycatcher', I'm ok with Phainoptila anyway?

Does the recommended guideline have a European / British or American bias/influence if any? Some seem to be veering away from hyphenating e.g Eagle Owl? This example seems odd to me to hyphenate as the name arises from it's size not it's relationship to Eagles unlike e.g Hawk-Eagle which makes a bit more sense.....to me anyway?

A

I think the idea is that Silky-flycatcher isn't a flycatcher, so the use of the hyphen indicates this fact, whereas Eagle Owls are true owls and the use of a hyphen would misleadingly imply a taxonomically distinction from other owls.
 
Lawks there are some grumpy miseries in the world. I enjoy the variety of handles people pick for themselves on this and other forums I visit. I wish I could have thought of a really good one for myself.... Owen's "Pariah" is a classic, giving you fair warning while also indicating he can take a wryly humorous look at himself. I'm fairly sure McMadd is not actually the character from Blackadder and Cathy is not actually a Peewit (Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) (note usage of capitals) (also note lack of unnecessary qualifier for Lapwing, being the original English bird to which the name was applied, cf Robin, Nightingale, Reed Warbler etc: it's only subsequently named similar birds that need a qualifier)).

Anybody who feels superior because they use their own name, because they use scientific names (even if they forget to call them that) or because they never make jokes, needs to get out more.

John
 
Lawks there are some grumpy miseries in the world. I enjoy the variety of handles people pick for themselves on this and other forums I visit. I wish I could have thought of a really good one for myself.... Owen's "Pariah" is a classic, giving you fair warning while also indicating he can take a wryly humorous look at himself. I'm fairly sure McMadd is not actually the character from Blackadder and Cathy is not actually a Peewit (Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) (note usage of capitals) (also note lack of unnecessary qualifier for Lapwing, being the original English bird to which the name was applied, cf Robin, Nightingale, Reed Warbler etc: it's only subsequently named similar birds that need a qualifier)).

Anybody who feels superior because they use their own name, because they use scientific names (even if they forget to call them that) or because they never make jokes, needs to get out more.

John

This from the only contender on BF to be grumpier and more volatile than me!!!!!.....;)

Think we're going through the 'manopause' John


A
 
Personally I don't think you have to be on here long (especially if you're a 'cross-dresser' like me and indulge in photography, butterflies, Odonata, and Gallery) to figure out who's opinions are worthy of careful consideration, alias or not. If I was a 'name' in the birding world I think I'd prefer an alias so I can be sure people are responding to my input dispassionately, and that I'm making my point well.

Back to the topic, I'm for capitalisation of bird names, except after a hyphen (as suggested above), but what about always italicising 'scientific' names? I know it's a pain but it just looks right.....

BUT far more important is to take the care to get the bloody names right in the first place if you're going to post them online. How many Google searches do you make, perhaps to check an ID, or an immature plumage, only to find a good % are completely wrong? The Gallery on here is far from perfect in this regard, and in a disappointing number of cases trying to politely suggest by pm the ID is wrong or should be checked, I have been told impolitely to pi$$ off and stop interfering, in one case by a member with over 100,000 posts. Off topic rant, sorry.....

Mick Temple

Mick... the Opus Editors and Moderators work hard to try to make sure that the pictures brought up on the Gallery Search link at the bottom of each species article shows the correct species. If there are any that are incorrect, they can be reported via the Report Images with the Wrong Scientific Name thread in the Opus Discussion area.

I'm sure the number of members who like to be advised will far outweigh those who take umbrage!
 
... in a disappointing number of cases trying to politely suggest by pm the ID is wrong or should be checked, I have been told impolitely to pi$$ off and stop interfering, in one case by a member with over 100,000 posts.

That's not very nice. Personally, if I posted an image with a wrong ID, I would hope someone did let me know. Please to 'interfere' if you ever see one of my images wrongly labelled :t:
 
Mick... the Opus Editors and Moderators work hard to try to make sure that the pictures brought up on the Gallery Search link at the bottom of each species article shows the correct species. If there are any that are incorrect, they can be reported via the Report Images with the Wrong Scientific Name thread in the Opus Discussion area.

I'm sure the number of members who like to be advised will far outweigh those who take umbrage!

Delia, I know you do (as we have discussed before), and I do use that thread, but it has always seemed better to approach the poster first as it is not just the scientific name that's wrong. Not doing so seems impolite and a bit like 'telling tales to teacher'.

Also you (and the other mods) should either be more diligent about 'captive birds' (a pinioned Eider duck in Staffordshire can only be a captive), or remove the restriction. In my view all photos of pinioned birds should be excluded as they are by definition 'captive' in some sense.

Mick
 
.

Also you (and the other mods) should either be more diligent about 'captive birds' (a pinioned Eider duck in Staffordshire can only be a captive), or remove the restriction. In my view all photos of pinioned birds should be excluded as they are by definition 'captive' in some sense.

Mick

Not just Opus, the whole site is not policed well in this regard and some get quite sniffy if I mention it even though it's supposed to be one of the posting 'rules'

A
 
That's not very nice. Personally, if I posted an image with a wrong ID, I would hope someone did let me know. Please to 'interfere' if you ever see one of my images wrongly labelled :t:

Agree, on the very rare occasion I get something wrong:)-O) I'm always grateful to be corrected whether it be a typo, spelling or ID error.



A
 
.....Also you (and the other mods) should either be more diligent about 'captive birds' (a pinioned Eider duck in Staffordshire can only be a captive), or remove the restriction. In my view all photos of pinioned birds should be excluded as they are by definition 'captive' in some sense.

Mick

I'm sorry, with the number of images posted and the number of hours that each Moderator can give on a volunteer basis, it is not always possible for us to catch them all - I can't even look at every image uploaded to the Forum and Gallery.

Personally I've not a clue what a 'pinioned' wing looks like! And by the end of the day with tired eyes I might not be able to spot it if I did know!!

If you see a picture that shouldn't be there, either report the post, or there's an option to do so in the Gallery too underneath each image.
 
Also you (and the other mods) should either be more diligent about 'captive birds' (a pinioned Eider duck in Staffordshire can only be a captive), or remove the restriction. In my view all photos of pinioned birds should be excluded as they are by definition 'captive' in some sense.

Mick

You should be cognizant of the fact that this is a world-wide forum and not all of us know if a bird in a particular area is captive. It would be nice to see you and a few others compliment our fee free time we spend on the forum rather than tear into us.
 
Personally I've not a clue what a 'pinioned' wing looks like!

It means the outer half of one wing has been cut off at the wrist joint; the result is that wing doesn't have any primary feathers. It prevents captive birds from escaping as it means they can't fly more than a metre or two. So if you see a photo of a bird with ony one set of primary feathers, it is a pinioned captive bird. Here's one:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duck_1d_(7113123757).jpg
 
I understand Delia, and can imagine life as a moderator is far from a bundle of fun and laughs. Your patience with us is appreciated!

A pinioned wing is easy to spot most times - because the primaries will be missing on one side. I will pm you with a couple of examples.

And your volunteered time is appreciated.

Mick
 
You should be cognizant of the fact that this is a world-wide forum and not all of us know if a bird in a particular area is captive. It would be nice to see you and a few others compliment our fee free time we spend on the forum rather than tear into us.

I am cognisant of that fact KC, and as expressed above to Delia I am very appreciative of the time you moderators put in, and very aware how frustrating it must be at times - all I am saying is there is little point having a 'rule' emblazoned in capitals (to get back to topic!) that you can't or won't enforce.

I do not recall 'tearing into' anyone here - but I doubt that all the moderators are unaware that an Eider duck in Staffordshire is a captive bird!

And if you don't know how to spot a pinioned bird then let me know and I'll copy you a few examples as well.

You have a nice day

Mick
 
I am cognisant of that fact KC, and as expressed above to Delia I am very appreciative of the time you moderators put in, and very aware how frustrating it must be at times - all I am saying is there is little point having a 'rule' emblazoned in capitals (to get back to topic!) that you can't or won't enforce.

I do not recall 'tearing into' anyone here - but I doubt that all the moderators are unaware that an Eider duck in Staffordshire is a captive bird!

And if you don't know how to spot a pinioned bird then let me know and I'll copy you a few examples as well.

You have a nice day

Mick

We CAN and WILL enforce the rules when we know there has been a breach of them. As KC stated none of the moderators are paid. We spend time on here as a free service to the forum, for some moderators I am sure it eats into their time with family and friends. If/when you see something let us know. We simply cannot moderate every thread, post or photo.
 
We CAN and WILL enforce the rules when we know of them. As KC stated none of the moderators are paid. We spend time on here as a free service to the forum, for some moderators I am sure it eats into their time with family and friends. If/when you see something let us know. We simply cannot moderate every thread, post or photo.

You (and KC and delia) have a pm.
I see no value in repeating what I just said - twice!
Mick
 
Back to the original topic, I speak as an editor of a journal that is not bird specific, but often has birds mentioned as part of trip reports, etc. (For those who may be interested, it is Wooden Canoe, journal of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association).

Like many publications, we develop our own style sheet, particularly for terms and usage specific to our topic. Otherwise, we follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. The CMS recommends lower case for bird names, except when a proper name is part of the name. So, belted kingfisher, turkey vulture, but Canada goose, Bicknell's thrush.

Looking at other bird oriented magazines, Bird Watcher's Digest uses lower case for common names. Both BirdWatching and Living Bird capitalize common names. I presume each of these define this in their own specific style sheets.
Dan
 
Otherwise, we follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. The CMS recommends lower case for bird names, except when a proper name is part of the name. So, belted kingfisher, turkey vulture, but Canada goose, Bicknell's thrush.

Three problems with that:

First, it gives rise to 'upper class' superior birds and 'lower class' inferior birds and problems with indexing (think of computer sorting A-Z then a-z) - it looks awful in lists. Consistent capitalisation looks neat.

Second, it means you have to find out the etymology of a bird's name before you can know how to spell it properly. Are you really sure turkey vulture is right? Actually, under CMS rules it should properly be Turkey vulture: the species is named after the gamebird, but the gamebird is itself named after the country, which is capitalised as a place name. And what is the etymology of Phainopepla? I don't have the faintest clue! Should it be capitalised or not? Was Phainopepla a famous Native American chieftain whose memory would be scandalised if decapitalised? Or is it a place name? Or just an ordinary word?

Third, a lot of bird names can be confusing when lower case, but are unambiguous when capitalised. This statement is clear when species names are capitalised, but becomes very odd when not:

In Nunavut, the Common Tern is not the common tern, while Arctic Tern is a common tern there.

In Nunavut, the common tern is not the common tern, while arctic tern is a common tern there.
 
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