Etymology of some Auks (1 Viewer)

The type locality certainly also encompasses Denmark.
Doesn't the text also say that "Aalge" was used in Iceland as well? ("...og falder i Iisland, og der har det Navn": "also occurs in Iceland, also there has this name"?... Niels?)
A curious detail: this name has been claimed to be unavailable, because in the text, it was printed in gothic, suggesting that the word was a local vernacular (like "Lomme", etc. on the same page) and that the scientific name had been omitted. However, Colymbus Aalge is clearly used as a scientific name on the plate. (It is of course also the plate that makes the name available, as the bird is not described).

Calalp said:

aalge
....the text of "Aalge" (here) and the Plate (here). ....

PS. Although, I must add, I don´t understand why the Type location is claimed to be "Iceland" …?!?

....

Doesn´t this indicate that Pontoppidan's aalge itself was from Denmark?
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You linked to page 622 there by mistake it's on page 621; there it says:

Aalge, som og falder i Iisland, og der har det Navn

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(if I've got the Gothic script right!!)

(possible translation: "Aalge, which is found in Iceland, and has that name" — I can read Danish, but not reliably 18th century Danish in Gothic script, so don't rely on that for accuracy!)

Iceland was of course part of Denmark in Pontoppidan's time.

Nutcracker said:

You linked to page 622 there by mistake it's on page 621; there it says:
(if I've got the Gothic script right!!)

(possible translation: "Aalge, which is found in Iceland, and has that name" — I can read Danish, but not reliably 18th century Danish in Gothic script, so don't rely on that for accuracy!)

Iceland was of course part of Denmark in Pontoppidan's time.

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The "og" might mean that the translation should be:
"Aalge, which is also found in Iceland, and has that name"

Aalge continuation …

Sorry for the wrong link! But everybody seem to have found the right page anyway

Nutcracker; you missed the (most important) word "og" in your suggested, "possible" translation, which means also. That the tiny word that started me to question the type location!

Thanks to Laurent, and backed by "our Dane" Niels, the OD says (now in my interpretation):

"Aalge, som og falder i Iisland, og der har det Navn." ("Aalge, which is also found [i. e. brought down] on Iceland, and there has that name.")

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… which led to (and established) the name "Colymbus Aalge" (alt. Colÿmbus Aalge?) on the Plate.

However: doesn´t this tell us that the name "Aalge" is, in fact, a Danish interpretation of its Icelandic name, not originally a Danish Word itself*?! And that the Type location should be Denmark, as this bird is also present on Iceland. The Whole book where this species first was listed was/is about Denmark … ?

*Niels, if so, my mistake, not fully understanding Pontoppidan's sentence, simply trusting the HBW Alive Key:

aalge
Danish name Aalge for an auk < Old Norse Alka auk (Uria).

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Or could the last part of the quote be interpreted as: "..., also there having this name"?

James, any opionion?

Is the (alphabetically) very first word in your Key really Danish? Or is it an Icelandic name?

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PS. Note that like "Nutcracker" stated, Iceland was ruled by Denmark in those days, (from 1397 until 1904/1918 … even if the Icelanders never spoke Danish).

PPS. Edward, could the Guillemot have been called álka in Iceland, as well, like the Razorbill (compare with Post No. #1)? That, in Danish, was transformed to aalge? At least in Sweden alka is (nowadays) a collective name used for the whole Alcidae, (like the English use of Auk), not restricted for any certain species [though in part, for the "ironic" Swedish name alkekung (Auk-King) for Little Auk Alle alle].

Calalp said:

PPS. Edward, could the Guillemot have been called álka in Iceland, as well, like the Razorbill (compare with Post No. #1)? That, in Danish, was transformed to aalge? At least in Sweden alka is (nowadays) a collective name used for the whole Alcidae, (like the English use of Auk), not restricted for any certain species [though in part, for the "ironic" Swedish name alkekung (Auk-King) for Little Auk Alle alle].

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I think it's pretty likely that álka could have been used at one time as a generic term for auks, before becoming to be used more specifially for Razorbill later. Nowadays auks are simply called svartfuglar (blackbirds). The modern Icelandic name for Common Guillemot is langvía, surely related to the Danish lomvie.

But Pontoppidan doesn't actually cite a locality in Denmark where he found it. So maybe a First Reviser faced with two potential locations selected Iceland as the better-supported type locality?

Interesting to note that the pic shows a bird in winter plumage.

I don´t follow ...

Nutcracker said:

But Pontoppidan doesn't actually cite a locality in Denmark where he found it. So maybe a First Reviser faced with two potential locations selected Iceland as the better-supported type locality?

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"Nutcracker", why should Iceland be a "better-suported type locality"?

Iceland is, by far, the double size of Denmark. Making "Iceland" the more extensive (and vague) location of those two.

The simple fact that it is mentioned by name, when Denmark isn't!

Pushing on ...

Nutcracker, You´re right as fa as Denmark isn´t mentioned in that particular sentence …

The book by Pontoppidan is called "Danske Atlas" ("Danish Atlas", for the full title, see Post No. #20) and the Chapter (where "Aalge" appear) is "Om Land- og Wand-Fuglene i Dannemark" (On Land- and Water-bird in Denmark"), which starts on p. 614, where it clearly tell´s us that Pontoppidan here intend to present a full List of "… Danske Fugle… som henhøre til Landets Natur-Historie." (… Danish Birds … which belong to the Country's Natural History."). He even typed the Danske Fugle in bold letters …

If Denmark´s not "mentioned" I don´t know what is!?

But we can leave this issue here, the type location is a side-track (for the HBW/IBC Crew, however they would know of this disagreement?), and let´s return to our Topic; etymology.

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Let´s also leave the pondering (Post No. #20-25) and true origin of the Danish/Icelandic aalge to Mr. Jobling …

I´ll have to push on (the "Aalge" is not on my list of "Swedish Names", simply included in this thread for "completeness" sake and as an understanding of this next post); however, the etymology of aalge is clear, at least as far as; it´s a version of alke/alca (Auk).

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So, let´s deal with the next, even more mixed-up, Guillemot … or Murre.

lomvia
● in Thick-billed Murre Uria lomvia LINNAEUS 1758* as "Alca Lomvia" a k a "Brünnich's Guillemot" or "Brünnich's Murre"
= is an old Swedish, dialectal name lomvia (following the Norwegian Lomvi or Lomvie) for today's Common/Thin-billed Murre or Common Guillemot Uria aalge.

*Not to be confused by "Uria Lomvia" BRÜNNICH 1764 [syn. U. aalge PONTOPPIDAN 1763]

Note: The Old Norse name; langve (pre-1300's) originating from Iceland, apparently covered both species. Also the later langivia and the following Nordic names; lomvi, lomvie and lomvia has all been used simultaneously on both (of today's) U. lomvia and U. aalge. The Species concept sure wasn´t as important in those days.

This is (still today) reflected in the Nordic Common names of the Common/Thin-billed Guillemot/Murre U. aalge which is (in full); langvía (Icelandic), lomvi (Norwegian) and lomvie (Danish). Sweden and Finland is the odd ones out, calling this species; sillgrissla resp. etelänkiisla. Also compare with the Faroese names Lomviga or Lomvigi. While the Thick-billed/ Brünnich's Murre/Guillemot Uria lomvia, in the same Countries, nowaday's is called; stuttnefja (in Iceland), polarlomvi (Norway), polarlomvie (Denmark), spetsbergsgrissla (Sweden), pohjankiisla (Finland) and either Íslandslomviga or Íslandslomvigi (Faroe Islands).

Maybe even more interesting is that this lomvia is a derivative of lom (as in Loon) the ancient Nordic name for Black-throated Diver Gavia arctica LINNAEUS 1758 (as "Colymbus arctica") a k a Arctic/Black-throated Loon. This Swedish Lom (Loon) originates, in its turn, in the old Norse lōma-. Compare with the today's Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Icelandic: lom – as in modern Norwegian and Swedish; storlom ( "Great lom) or the Danish; sortstrubede lom ("Black-throated lom"). Also consider the Icelandic; (earlier) lómr, still "alive" in today's Lómur (the latter for Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata).

In Swedish texts today's lom (for the Loon) is known from the mid-1500's (as loohm, loom or lohm), and thereafter as lomm or (as today's Swedish) lom (already in the mid-1600's). It was also, later, called lumme or Lumbe in Swedish. Compare with the synonyms troile/troille in the HBW Alive Key.

Note: in his Systema naturæ 1758 Linnaeus did place the [thicker-billed] "Lomvia" with the other Auks in Alca, with no experience of the bird itself, simply trusting the work of earlier Authors. Linnaeus clearly wasn´t aware that this name included (today's) two species of Guillemots/Murres, and that this name eventually would happen to stick on the one he never met!

The ending (suffix) -via (and -vie) as in lomvia alt. lomvie [i. e. lom (loon) + -vie/-via] might, could have its origin in, or being related to, the Old Nose word veiðr (hunt) – although no consensus rule regarding this certain interpretation – if so (!) meaning something like "hunting loon" alt. "chaser-loon"!?

PS. Also note that for a long time today's U. lomvia was considered simply a variety (or, for quite a while, a subspecies) of aalge … at least till 1899 when Dr. Svenander proved them clearly distinct, breeding side by side on Bjørnøya (Bear Island, Beeren Eiland), South off Spitsbergen [i. e. U. l. lomvia LINNAEUS 1758 and U. aalge hyperborea SALOMONSEN 1932]
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And one single subspecies ...

Here´s one single name of all the various Auk subspecies where I think I might have something to add ...

arra
● in the subspecies Uria lomvia arra PALLAS (1811 … ?) as "Cepphus Arra" ["In Camtschatca communi, cum praecedente, nomine vocatur Arra."] a k a "Pallas's Murre" or "Pallas's Guillemot". Link to Pallas's Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica 1831 … OD? (here)

= from the local, Siberian (Kamchatkan?) name; Ahr-'rah (… at least according to Joel Asaph Allen 1905, quoting Norman G. Buxton on page 224.)
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The date of publication of the two first volumes of Pallas' Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica is fixed as 1811 in Opinion 212 of the ICZN.
(Most copies, as the one you link to, have a title page that gives the date as 1831; others like [this one] on Google give 1811. Except for the changed title page and the added index, the work itself is from the same print run, as can be seen by comparing imperfections. Eg., note poorly printed i's in "frigidioribus" at the bottom of page 4 in the 1811 version and the 1831 version.)

"In Camtschatca communi, cum praecedente, nomine vocatur Arra." = "In Kamchatka together with the preceding one, is called by the name Arra."

Thanks Laurent, I expected that answer!

I simply missed, didn´t find, the 1811 issue ...

Ok, good, nothing to question here: "Cepphus Arra" = today's Uria lomvia arra PALLAS 1811

Though I don´t reallly understand why Pallas wrote that particular sentence; … the preceeding one was "Cepphus Lomvia" [syn. U. aalge, most likely the subspecies U. a. inornata SALOMONSEN 1932] and, in its own list of references, Pallas wrote the local name/s of it slightly different.

However, it doesn´t really matter; most of them is quite similar to "Arra" (Pallas's version of this Kamchatkan name for a Guillemot/Murre). I´ll keep it as simple as that! Foreign pronunciation and articulation are not always simple to interpret in writing. I don´t think that the Kamchatkan's, in those days, bothered to separate the similar Guillemots/Murres. But they did apparently notice the difference of the Black Guillemot U. grylle, calling it Kajuur.

Note that the two preceeding ones, before this "Lomvia" (i. e. aalge) is "Cepphus Stellatus" and "Cepphus Imber" (today's; Red-throated Diver/Loon Gavia stellata and Great Northern Diver/ Common/Black-billed Loon Gavia immer). Pallas's still kept the Guillemots/Murres together with the Loons/Divers (Sw: Lommarna).

Not sure either, but it indeed seems likely that local languages did not differentiate between two species.
Note that he usually gave two "Kamchatkan" names for birds occurring there: one used by Russians in Kamchatka, the other Kamchadal--from the original local ethnic group. For the Common Guillemot, he wrote "Rossis in Camtschatca Kaara" and "Camtschadalis Aarun, Aaru" (and also included a Kurilian name--"Curilis Hara"--which was more than likely related to these two). So "Arra" just seems to be an additional variant, for which he didn't really give us any precise origin.
Of course, the Kamchadal language was not written, thus transcriptions may certainly be expected to vary. (Although perhaps not merely two pages apart, and under the pen of a single author...)

And now some (of many, many, many) synonyms ...

We´re getting close to the end of this lengthy tread, so let´s deal with some synonyms!

Note: there are loads and loads of synonyms on these various Auks. Even Synonyms of Synonyms on several species. The great Elliott Coues wrote in 1868: "Perhaps no bird has so many synonyms as Uria grylle."

… and for "Lomvia troile" [i. e. today's Uria lomvia:]: "The synonymy of this species is very extensive, and somewhat intricate, though it is possible to collate it with much accuracy and certainty, provided more labor be bestowed than the importance of the matter warrants, …."

If the meticulous Mr. Coues found it "intricate" and couldn´t find time enough to sort them all out I sure won´t give it a try! So watch out and be careful trying to understand what´s what. I don´t feel totally safe claiming that I got all the following synonyms perfectly correct … but I hope (!?) I´ve got their various etymologies right!

Thereby I will here only deal with those etymologies where I feel I might, could have something to add …


ringvia
● … in the invalid "Uria ringvia" BRÜNNICH 1764 [syn. Uria aalge PONTOPPIDAN 1763 – normal (but spectacled) variation of Common Guillemot]
= from the Islandic hringvia alt. ringvia (simply meaning something like; "the (lom)via with a ring round its eyes"). Here ring is the same word as in English.

For the ending (suffix) -via, see the end of post for: lomvia (No. #29)


pica
… in the invalid "Alca Pica" LINNAEUS 1766 [i. e. immature or winter plumaged Alca torda LINNAEUS 1758]
= referring to the black-and-white (pied) plumage of the Magpie Pica pica LINNAEUS 1758


svarbag
● … in the invalid "Uria svarbag" BRÜNNICH 1764 [syn. (winter alt. non-breeding plumage) Uria lomvia LINNAEUS 1758]
= from the Islandic Svartbakur – from Svart (Black) + bakur (back, behind), due to its noticeably darker, blacker, colour.

The black back is still today a valid Field character or distinctive feature to, even from great distance, easily spot a Thick-billed Murre/Guillemot Uria lomvia, by its blacker, darker backside, in a crowd of ("more browner-tinged") Thin-billed/Common Murres/Guillemots Uria aalge.

The same "trick" still works for Field ornithologists, in more southern waters, making it easy to spot a (pitch-black) Razorbill Alca torda ("standing out") in a crowd of browner/paler Uria aalge's.

Also compare with the Islandic collective names (earlier) svartfygli and (today) svartfuglar, both meaning "Blackbirds", which is used for the different Auks (i. e.; Great Auk, both Murre's/Guillemot's, Puffin, little Auk and Razorbill).


alga
● … in the invalid "Uria Alga" BRÜNNICH 1764 [a variety of "svarbag", with entirely black tail feathers (!?)]
= yet another version of alca, aalge, alka, alk, i. e. Auk etc. etc.


helgolandica
● … in the invalid "Uria aalge helgolandica" LÖNNBERG 1923 [syn. U. aalge albionis WITHERBY 1923]
= the German Island Helgoland (Heligoland) where this variety was claimed to be breeding.


francsii
● … in the invalid "Uria Francsii" (Nomen nudum …?) LEACH 1818: "Dr Leach exhibited a new species of Guillemot, … , discovered by Mr. Francs, near Ferroe, …" [syn. of "Uria Brünnichii"*SABINE 1817/1818, and "Uria (Lomvia) Brünnichii"* BRANDT 1837 – in, their turn, syn. of Uria lomvia LINNAEUS 1758]
Link to OD (here) with reference, back, to page 538 (here), which tells us: "... in compliment to Mr. Fredrerick Franks, whom he then supposed to have been the person by whom it had been first killed". Later a k a "Franks's Guilemot" …
= the almost totally unknown Mr. Fredrerick Franks (xxxx–xxxx) or Francs (!?), who delivered several specimens of birds; Gulls, Oystercatchers, etc. … and this one – from the Faroe Islands, to the British Museum)

*Not to be confused with "Uria Brünnichii" HEERMANN 1859 [syn. Uria aalge californicus BRYANT 1861]


motzfeldi
● … the invalid "Uria motzfeldi" BENICKEN 1824 [syn. Cepphus grylle LINNAEUS 1758].
I know nothing of any Motzfeld, due to lack of linguistic skills (the OD is in German, old-school letters), only included here because the HBW Alive Key reads:

motzfeldi
Eponym; dedication unseen (Motzfeld provided skin to Benicken in 1820) (Benicken 1824) (cf. Motzfeld Lake, Greenland) (syn. Cepphus grylle).

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Link to OD here, with hope that someone understand it any better?

And I know even less of the last one in this Post:

"mansfeldi"
● … the invalid "Alca mansfeldi" SEEBOHM 1890, 276, in text (Greenland) [syn. Cepphus grylle LINNAEUS 1758].

Only mentioned in Seebohm's The Birds of the Japanese Empire, p. 276 (though this bird was, as well as the above mentioned motzfeldi, from Greenland!). Link here. I don´t know if it was ever described the proper way? Maybe it´s a Nomen nudum?

Anyone think otherwise?
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Calalp said:

pica
… in the invalid "Alca Pica" LINNAEUS 1766 [i. e. immature or winter plumaged Alca torda LINNAEUS 1758]
= referring to the black-and-white (pied) plumage of the Magpie Pica pica LINNAEUS 1758

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(Just wanted to add that, of course, the word "pica" predates Linnaeus, as it is the classical Latin name of the bird. )

francsii
● … in the invalid "Uria Francsii" (Nomen nudum …?) LEACH 1818: "Dr Leach exhibited a new species of Guillemot, … , discovered by Mr. Francs, near Ferroe, …" [syn. of "Uria Brünnichii"*SABINE 1817/1818, and "Uria (Lomvia) Brünnichii"* BRANDT 1837 – in, their turn, syn. of Uria lomvia LINNAEUS 1758]
Link to OD (here) with reference, back, to page 538 (here), which tells us: "... in compliment to Mr. Fredrerick Franks, whom he then supposed to have been the person by whom it had been first killed". Later a k a "Franks's Guilemot" …
= the almost totally unknown Mr. Fredrerick Franks (xxxx–xxxx) or Francs (!?), who delivered several specimens of birds; Gulls, Oystercatchers, etc. … and this one – from the Faroe Islands, to the British Museum)

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The British Museum has a page about a Captain Frederick Franks, albeit not with much info.

[Here], Uria francsii is a nomen nudum; but not in the Trans. Linn. Soc.: there, the footnoted reference to Sabine's description is technically enough to make the name available. Note that the Richmond Index dates both Trans. Linn. Soc. names (Sabine's and Leach's, thus) from 1819.

motzfeldi
● … the invalid "Uria motzfeldi" BENICKEN 1824 [syn. Cepphus grylle LINNAEUS 1758].
I know nothing of any Motzfeld, due to lack of linguistic skills (the OD is in German, old-school letters), only included here because the HBW Alive Key reads:Link to OD here, with hope that someone understand it any better?

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"[...], so wünschte ich ihn nach dem Freunde, dessen Gefälligkeit ich manche nordische Seltenheit verdanke, Uria Motzfeldi genannt."
"[...], then I wish it to be named Uria Motzfeldi, after the friend to whose kindness I owe more than one nordic rarity."
At first sight I see no additional info about him in the text (but it's rather long, and the Gothic lettering doesn't help to go through it easily, so I may certainly have missed something).

"mansfeldi"
● … the invalid "Alca mansfeldi" SEEBOHM 1890, 276, in text (Greenland) [syn. Cepphus grylle LINNAEUS 1758].

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I don't think this would necessarily be a nomen nudum either, as there is some descriptive information, even if it is minimal ("a species occurs in Greenland (Alca mansfeldi) which is black all over"). But Richmond suggests this is but a spelling mistake for the previous one, and this makes sense to me (cf. Benicken's 1824 description: "Das ganze Gefieder rußfarbig schwarz, am unterleibe etwas in Graue übergehend, die Schwungfedern bräunlich schwarz", "The whole plumage sooty black, on the underparts grading somewhat into grey, the flight feathers brownish black"). If so the name has no separate availability (and of course there is no reason to expect it to be described the proper way anywhere, nor to look for a "Mr. Mansfeld" that would be associated to this bird).

Re Motzfeld:
There is still a family in Greenland named something similar, for example this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Motzfeldt

I did not see an easy link to who Lake Motzfeld/Lake Motzfeldt was named for.

Niels

Not an easy link, but when I searched for "motzfeldt sø" I got this page in Danish which suggests that the lake was named after Peter Motzfeldt, 1910-71.

Paul Clapham said:

Not an easy link, but when I searched for "motzfeldt sø" I got this page in Danish which suggests that the lake was named after Peter Motzfeldt, 1910-71.

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That is how I read it too. It would possibly be informative to do genealogy on that family to figure out who the original German person was who brought the name to Greenland. Or maybe this is even a completely wrong hypothesis and has nothing to do with the person that was the "friend".

Niels

Winge (1898):

I 1821 modtog Benicken (i Slesvig) gjennem Direktør Motzfeldt et Skind af en Gejrfugl i Vinterdragt fra Disko. Til sin Meddelelse om Fuglens Ydre o. s. v. (Isis 1824) føjer han følgende Ord: "Ohngeachtet der seit mehreren Jahren für mich mit ausgezeichneter Thätigkeit wirkenden Freundschaft eines der Herren Direktoren des grönländischen Handels, habe ich nur ein einziges Exemplar bekommen können, weil der Vogel auch dort nur selten vorkommt..."

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The quoted German text comes from [here] (it doesn't cite Motzfeldt's name, hence I initially overlooked it), and is about a Great Auk that Benicken also received thanks to his friendship with--it now appears--the same Motzfeldt. Thus the "Freund" was "Direktor des grönländischen Handels".
Ostermann (ed.) 1942 [pdf] (a miniature showing Motzfeldt is reproduced on p.146):

Peter Hanning Motzfeldt, 1774-1835,
inspektør i Nordgrønland,
direktør for den Kgl. Grønlandske Handel.​

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Calalp said:

motzfeldi

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"mansfeldi"
● … the invalid "Alca mansfeldi" SEEBOHM 1890, 276, in text (Greenland) [syn. Cepphus grylle LINNAEUS 1758].

Only mentioned in Seebohm's The Birds of the Japanese Empire, p. 276 (though this bird was, as well as the above mentioned motzfeldi, from Greenland!). Link here. I don´t know if it was ever described the proper way? Maybe it´s a Nomen nudum?
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At a guess, mansfeldi could be a typo / misremembered spelling for motzfeldi?