A Christmas … toponym !? And Mr. Lister! (1 Viewer)

natalis
● in Christmas Hawk-owl Ninox natalis a k a "Christmas Boobook" LISTER 1889* (OD here)
= Latin natalis birthday, derived from natus born, son – alluding to the Birth of Jesus Christ and, even more so, in this case, to a certain place: Christmas Island (territory of Australia, in the Indian Ocean), where this species was discovered in 1887 (it is still today restricted to that particular Island).

The Type, a single specimen, was collected there, by "J. J. Lister"** personally, the 5th of October 1887, (see link to NHM, here), in vicinity of Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island, while visiting, surveying and exploring the Island with the sloop HMS Egeria. The Island itself, in its turn, was discovered when sailed past on Christmas Day (25th of December)) 1643, by Captain Mynors, who thereby named it Christmas Island. Today it is known (among scientists and naturalists) for its high level of endemism and (among most Australians) as an over-crowded detention Centre for asylum-seekers (… not very "Christmasy").

Not to be confused with Kiritimati a k a "Christmas Island" (in the Pacific Ocean) visited by Captain Cook on Christmas Eve (the 24th of December) 1777.

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*also includes Christmas Island White-eye Zosterops natalis (p. 518 + Plate, here), "Collocalia natalis" (p.520 = today's Collocalia esculenta natalis), "Chalcophaps natalis" (p.522 = today's Chalcophaps indica natalis) and "Urospizias natalis" (p.523 = today's Accipiter fasciatus natalis) … as well as the "Pterops natalis" [p.516, today's Pteropus (melanotus) natalis], the latter a k a "Christmas Island Flying-fox"!

** Joseph Jackson Lister (1857–1927), British naturalist, zoologist and collector (mostly of plants), is most likely (!?) the one commemorated in the doubtful, highly questioned taxon/subspecies Fregata minor "listeri" MATHEWS 1914 (no dedication, OD here, Type Locality: Christmas Island, Indian Ocean – most often considered a synonym of nominate F. m. minor GMELIN 1789) and not (which is sometimes claimed) Alister William Mathews, born 1907, son of Gregory Macalister Mathews. [More of Mr. Lister, here, here and here.]
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And finally; Compare the Latin natalis (birthday) with today's Italian word natale (meaning both Birth and Christmas) or their expression Buon Natale (alt. the Portuguese Feliz Natal, both) meaning Merry Christmas … and, yes, I confess ; this lingering Post is simply a very entangled way of wishing you all:

Exactly that!

… and a Happy 15!

Björn
xxx

To add more info from Sharpe 1906: This specimen arrived in 1888 as part of 23 specimens in the NHM. Lister was Naturalist on the ship Egeria in 1887 and visited Christmas Island. Other types he presented are Zosterops uatalis, Collocalia natalis, Chalcophaps natalis, Urospizias natalis and the ninox. See also P.Z.S. 1888: 512-529 (including two plates).
In 1891 he donated 10 specimens from the Phoenix island group. Also some specimens arrived in the NHM as part of the Henry Seebohm legacy.

From Dinner for one:

Same procedure as every year.

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Merry Christmas. Joyeux Noël. Feliz Navidad. Prettige kerst. God jul. Frohe Weihnachten.

...to all of you.

Taphrospilus said:

From Dinner for one:




Merry Christmas. Joyeux Noël. Feliz Navidad. Prettige kerst. God jul. Frohe Weihnachten.

...to all of you.

Click to expand...

счастливого Рождества Schastlivogo rozhdestva

Endemic nomenclature for Xmas
Afrikaans, or South African, is a wonderful language, but it also - in its relation to Dutch - offers for Dutch speaking persons some funny elements. The wish for Christmas is: Vrolik Kersfees! In Dutch we write "vrolijk" = merry, cheerful (frolicking!), but in Afrikaans the words ending in -st have lost the last t, so Kerstfeest has become Kersfees. Our Dutch word kers = cherry, in fresh hardly something for the Xmas tide!
Something else from exotic import: the Afrikaans name for Guineafowl is Tarentaal. Seems a puzzling name (certainly not of Dutch origin) until one knows the history: Jan van Riebeeck, founder of the Cape Colony, and his crew sailed from East Indies to South Africa and found a chicken-like bird, which they called: "bird of Terra de Natal" (the Portuguese name Natal for the region was existant already).
The Dutch name for this "Christmas bird" is Parelhoen (pearl fowl) and there is a dialect name Poelepetaat, derived from French "poule pintade" (speckled fowl).
Well known in ornithological history is the nomenclatural confusion of Guinea Fowl and Turkey, but whatever is served at your table, enjoy your Christmas dinner and the good things which 2020 hopefully holds in store.
Best wishes,
Jan van der Brugge

And as we are nearly there remember this old thread.

Festum laetum et annum novum faustum vobis precor.

(Be indulgent with me if that doesn't work in Latin.)