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The Eponym Dictionary of Birds (1 Viewer)

Richard Klim

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Forthcoming...

Beolens, Watkins & Grayson 2014. The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. Christopher Helm.
A comprehensive dictionary listing all the people whose names are commemorated in the English and scientific names of birds.

Keener birders will have yearned to see Pallas's Warbler, Hume's Owl, Swainson's Thrush, Steller's Eider or Brünnich's Guillemot. But few people today will have even heard of Albertina's Myna, Barraband's Parrot, Guerin's Helmetcrest or Savigny's Eagle Owl. This extraordinary new work lists more than 4,000 eponymous names covering 10,000 genera, species and subspecies of birds. Every taxon with an eponymous vernacular or scientific name (whether in current usage or not) is listed, followed by a concise biography of the person concerned. The text is punctuated with intriguing or little-known facts, unearthed in the course of the authors' extensive research.

Hardback – 576pp – March 2014 – Price £50.00
Considerably expanded wrt Beolens & Watkins 2003 (Whose Bird?), now covering scientific names (including genera and subspecies) in addition to common names.

[Note that the catalogue gives the publication date as March 2014, but the Bloomsbury website currently gives 19 June 2014.]
 
Thanks Richard,

I´m looking forward to have a peek at that book …

I only hope the editors (or the authors themselves) have had plenty (and here I mean plenty) of time to revise some, quite a few, of the statements made in their first book "Whose bird?".

If anyone is curious … and can´t wait (for those four species "few people today will have even heard of" mentioned in the sales promoting text of the coming Eponym Dictionary of Birds):

1. "Albertina's Myna" a k a " Albertina's Starling " = today Bare-eyed Myna Streptocitta albertinae SCHLEGEL 1865 (1866) as "Charitornis albertinae": "L'épithète conférée à ce charmant oiseau rappelle le nom de Tune des aimables filles de notre défunt ami, le professeur VAN LITH DE JEUDE; qui, mainte fois, a eu la bienveillance de nous faire, avec une grace parfaite, les honneurs des riches collections de son père". =the Dutch Albertina Catharina Petronella Schlegel (1829–1894) born Pfeiffer, step-daughter of the Dutch professor van Lidth de Jeude* (1788–1863) and Second Wife** to the widowed (25 years older) German ornithologist Hermann Schlegel, that she married in 1869.

* = the Dutch professor Theodoor Gerhard van Lidth de Jeude (1788–1863), often (in English) transcribed as "Theodore …" who is commemorated in Lidth's Jay Garrulus lidthi BONAPARTE 1850.

**Not to be confused with Schlegel's first (also Dutch) wife (often claimed to be her namesake, but her name was) Cornelia Schlegel (1815–1864) born Buddingh, commemorated in the subspecie Cornelia's Eclectus Parrot Eclectus roratus cornelia BONAPARTE 1850 as "Eclectus Cornelia" – explained by Bonaparte himself , in English 1849 (published later in 1850, plate attached): "I have named this beautiful bird after H. Schlegel's virtous and talented wife, whose quick eye detected the species before professed ornithologists themselves, … and I dedicate it to that lady with additional pleasure, as a small testimony of gratitude for the happy hours spent, and the useful information collected, under the hospitable roof of the zoologist, who posseses the deepest knowledge of each and every class of vertebrate animals, and whose literary and truly philosophical attainments are only equaled by his practical and thorough aquaintance with species, the only solid base of our science."

Quite a dedication, both to Schlegel and his Wife Cornelia, isn´t it!?

It´s easy to believe that Schlegel named the first mentioned specie (the Myna/Starling 1865/1966) after his then recently gone wife, but he doesn´t seem to have been very soft-hearted and he´d apparently already "moved on" ... for another young wife.

2. "Barraband's Parrot" = today Orange-cheeked Parrot (Gypopsitta/Pyrilia) Pionopsitta barrabandi KUHL 1820 = the French Artist, zoological and botanical illustrator Jacques Barraband (1767–1809). Kuhl's type description was based on "Le Caïca Barraband" by Levaillant and his Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets (Volume 2) 1805, where Monsieur Barraband was one (the foremost) of three highly skilled and celebrated illustrators.

3. "Guerin's Helmetcrest" = today Bearded Helmetcrest Oxypogon guerinii BOISSONNEAU 1840 (as "Ornismia Guerinii") a k a "Guerin's Helmet-Crest Hummingbird O. Guerini " by Gould = French naturalist Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville (1799–1874), born Guérin. Also commemorated in the subspecie/"group" Picus canus guerini MALHERBE 1849.

4. "Savigny's Eagle Owl" = today Pharaoh Eagle-Owl Bubo (bubo) ascalaphus SAVIGNY 1809 = the French naturalist, collector ad explorer Jules-Cesár Savigny (17771851), whose full name was Marie Jules-Cesár Lelorgne de Savigny (Family name sometimes written LeLorgne de Savigny or Lelorgue de Savigny), "membre de l’Institut d’Égypte" that participated in Emperor Napoleon I's exploring of Egypt – who himself described and named the specie (as "Bubo Ascalaphus" page 110), in Des Oiseaux de l’Égypte et de la Syrie. Description de l'Égypte, ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. Histoire naturelle. Tome 1: 63-115.

I sure wonder if Bo Beolens et al will get it right this time!?

In any case, I have to admit, that the mere idea of such a forthcoming book makes me lose some steam in my own Etymological Project. We´ll see if I will be able to keep it going … but I will … try to struggle on.
 

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I´m looking forward to have a peek at that book …
I only hope the editors (or the authors themselves) have had plenty (and here I mean plenty) of time to revise some, quite a few, of the statements made in their first book "Whose bird?".
The authors' other recent titles probably give some idea of what we can expect...
 
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Note: Sales text are Sales texts ...


Just a quick glance at those six "eponymous" bird names …

1. Passerini’s Tanager Ramphocelus passerinii BONAPARTE 1831 vs HBW Alive. Looks ok ...

2. Salmon’s Jacamar
Brachygalba salmoni SCLATER & SALVIN 1879 vs HBW Alive. Born 1840 or 1841?

3. Adelie Penguin Pygoscelis adeliae HOMBRON & JACQUINOT 1841 vs vs HBW Alive. Clearly not an Eponym, but a Toponym. The Penguin is named after the Adèlie Land, Antarctica – which, in its turn, got its name after the wife of Dumont d’Urville (more on her in a future thread).

4. the subspecies [of Red-headed Parrotfinch] Erythrura cyaneovirens gaughrani DUPONT 1972 vs HBW Alive. Nothing contradictory …

5. Lewis’s Woodpecker (Asyndesmus) Melanerpes lewis GRAY 1849 vs HBW Alive. Captain Merriwether or Meriwether Lewis?

6. "Great Egret has been known as Queen Victoria’s Egret" … that I have no comment of.

I don´t know what to think of this book; to look forward to it or not … buy it or not?

However, this much seem quite obvious, if those are the examples the publishers choose to show, it need to be read with some reservation and trusted with some care …

I cant help getting the sad feeling that it will, if not confuse, just blurr a lot of of facts for years to come (like their preceding Whose bird? did in 2003).

Let´s hope I´m wrong!
 
The Penguin is named after the Adèlie Land, Antarctica.
...or Adélie Land? ;)

PS. It's correct in Jobling 2010. I wonder if diacritical marks have been systematically mangled in the HBW Alive key to scientific names...?
 
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I don´t know what to think of this book; to look forward to it or not … buy it or not?
However, this much seem quite obvious, if those are the examples the publishers choose to show, it need to be read with some reservation and trusted with some care …
I cant help getting the sad feeling that it will, if not confuse, just blurr a lot of of facts for years to come (like their preceding Whose bird? did in 2003).
Let´s hope I´m wrong!
Indeed. I feel similarly cautious. And, as Mike B recently commented, it's not exactly a give-away bargain at the nominal price!
 
If diacritical marks have been mangled in the HBWAlive Key I can only plead guilty, but not to systematic mangling; with nearly 30,000 headers and over half a million words some typos and personal preferences must creep in. Probably I assumed that as Terre Adélie was named for Adèle Dumont d'Urville it should more properly be spelled Adèlie in English. Ho, hum....
 
As Björn wrote I am as well a little bit concerned about the book as there are in fact a couple of errors in this book. See as well #12 of here. Sometimes I have the impression that the original source wasn't checked. Other examples are Parzudaki discussed here. Nevertheless many things seems to be right and it is easy to pick up certain faulty examples and do not talk about the rest.

P.S. "Whose Bird?: Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds" frorm same authors contained as well a lot of errors.
 
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