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What Bird Names Would You Change? (1 Viewer)

Anything with Oleaginous, Guttulated etc in it gets my vote for change.

Chris

p.s. ....or 'White-winged' when they only have white wingbars.

C
 
.......... and stuff like :-

Lunulated Antbird - ??????
Wing-barred Antbird + Manakin - the bars aren't anything like wings!
Undulated Antpitta - flopping Antpittas up and down will get you arrested. And rightly so.
Crescent-faced Antpitta - birds don't have faces, particularly ones shaped like Croissants.
Flammulated Bamboo Tyrant + Flycatcher - setting fire to birds is deffo out of order.
Eye-ringed Tody Tyrant - Eyes ringed or eye shaped rings all over its body????????????
Flame-templed Babbler - Zoroastran Babblers? What will they think of next?


...... and finally Alectrurus tricolor. Don't tell me you didn't think exactly the ame thing as I did 'cos I won't believe you.

Chris
 
I'd change the name of the goldfinch. The first thing I always notice about these birds is the red on their head, so I'd call them Ruby Finches.

Aoife
 
How about reconciling the english and scientific names? Med Gull's scientific name means Black headed Gull, Black headed Gull's means Laughing Gull, Laughing Gull....

Matt
 
Bowland Birders said:
I agree that they sound nice but the regional names are more helpful in a wider context and I believe that some folk associate the old names with colonialism?
Click to expand...

It's not just a question of them sounding nice! In many cases, patronymic names commemorate some of the great heroes of ornithological exploration and I think it's bad form to consign them to the dustbin of history under the banner of political correctness.

Does any person worth listening to really get upset about bird names being associated with colonialism? In most places I've been where cities have been re-named for these reasons, the locals still use the old colonial era names!

The irony is that many of the supposedly descriptive made-up new names are just as meaningless as the original - for example, as (I think) Craig Robson pointed out, renaming Roborovski's Rosefinch as "Tibetan Rosefinch" was particularly daft, given that about 15 species of Rosefinch occur in "Tibet".

My own view is that common bird names in general usage should not be tinkered-with, even if they are irrational or vary between Europe and the US. If I'm in America or Canada, I'm happy to call "divers", "loons" and Grey Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers.

The exception is where name changes are required due to taxonomic changes, which is a different matter.
 
Not really qualified to comment on most of this as I've not been farther east than the Black Sea coast, or indeed no farther west than Cork :eek!:

However I must confess to an extreme dislike of anything 'Eurasian' - contrived names to make things 'fit' always seems pointless to me :C

Loons/Murres/Jaegers v. Divers/Guillemots/Skuas - you'll always argue in favour of what is familiar to you - therefore call them what you like depending on where you are, we know what is meant whether we understand the reasons or not (not in my case;)).

Calling things by one name where there is more than one, e.g. redshank or whitethroat is just because there was once a Redshank/Whitethroat, then someone described a Spotted (or Dusky |=\|)/Lesser one. No real need to re-name the original IMHO.

Mind you, I'm with changing Black-headed Gull. And my other half, when having it explained to her why a Black Redstart was so-called suggested it should be a Grey Orangestart.
 
wheatearlp said:
However I must confess to an extreme dislike of anything 'Eurasian' - contrived names to make things 'fit' always seems pointless to me :C
Click to expand...

Not the best example to use as a contrived name - the word Eurasian has been in existence for a long time long before its use in ornithology. In any case, there are thousands of words in English that originated because using one word to replace long and complex phrases is a common occurrence, usually in speech before appearing in print - making things 'fit' is at least a popular way of introducing changes in language. I would argue that 'contrived' words are poor solutions only when they clearly don't make things fit!;););)
MJB
 
SW London birder said:
How about reconciling the english and scientific names? Med Gull's scientific name means Black headed Gull, Black headed Gull's means Laughing Gull, Laughing Gull....

Matt
Click to expand...

The German name for Black-headed = Lachmöwe= Laughing Gull, for Mediterranean Gull = Schwarzkopfmöwe= Black-headed Gull and for Laughing Gull = Aztekenmöwe = Aztec Gull which doesn't complete the circle

Andy
 
I am not an experienced "birder" (actually I wouldn't call myself a birder at all), but I always thought "red-bellied woodpecker" is kind of a silly name. I understand "red-headed woodpecker" is already taken, but how about "red-capped woodpecker"? Its belly is only faintly red (and often not very noticeable), but the red cap on its head is quite striking.
 
MJB said:
Not the best example to use as a contrived name - the word Eurasian has been in existence for a long time long before its use in ornithology. In any case, there are thousands of words in English that originated because using one word to replace long and complex phrases is a common occurrence, usually in speech before appearing in print - making things 'fit' is at least a popular way of introducing changes in language. I would argue that 'contrived' words are poor solutions only when they clearly don't make things fit!;););)
MJB
Click to expand...

I meant contrived in the sense of a contrived bird name rather than a contrived word.

I agree that calling something Eurasian when it occurs (largely) in Eurasia is a logical solution, but just seems to demonstrate a lack of imagination to call so many things Eurasian - I guess it's the easy option. Much in the same way that adding Common to many 'official' bird names seems to be another easy option where the single name isn't deemed acceptable/suitable.

But before anyone asks, no I've not got any better suggestions - at least not at the moment ;)
 
wheatearlp said:
I meant contrived in the sense of a contrived bird name rather than a contrived word.

I agree that calling something Eurasian when it occurs (largely) in Eurasia is a logical solution, but just seems to demonstrate a lack of imagination to call so many things Eurasian - I guess it's the easy option. Much in the same way that adding Common to many 'official' bird names seems to be another easy option where the single name isn't deemed acceptable/suitable.

But before anyone asks, no I've not got any better suggestions - at least not at the moment ;)
Click to expand...

.............. plus the fact that Eurasian is rather a perjorative term from the days of the Raj. ( .... and it's just plain ugly :C ).

Chris
 
I was reminded of this thread by a post in the ID forum today.

Henceforth all larks and pipits should be called Lark-pipit;)
 
I can not see the point of ever changing bird names. The whole point of a name is so everyone knows what you are talking about. Once a name is changed then only the select few know what it is. Stick to existing names , we all know what a common gull is and yet some daft bird reports have started to call them mew gulls. It took me some time to know what their propper name was common gull and as yet I have never met anyone in the field talk of mew gulls. A name is a name . Full stop.
 
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