AOS to discard patronyms in English names (2 Viewers)

[Xenospiza]

So they took a bird that was named for the wholly benign Robert Cushman Murphy, and renamed it after islands known primarily for piracy and child sex abuse.

That just about sums it up.

The island is also named after a person, so a no-no.

 

[njlarsen]

For the record, I feel this is nonsense.
Niels

 

[Jacana]

The following are yet to be renamed, suggestions are very welcome!

Steller's Jay

You might want to hold off on thinking up a new name for that one, given that it is possible it'll get split anyway, thanks to some recent research on the species.

 

[raymie]

"One more departure from the WGAC"
WGAC
IOU Statement on Vernacular and Common Bird Names

Preamble:

Consistency of name usage is of utmost importance in communication about bird species, ranging from research, conservation and legal contexts all the way to informal and everyday communication. In birds – more so than in any other animal group – the use of common and vernacular names well outweighs that of scientific names because of the large number of amateur ornithologists using them. In an international context and given that English is the lingua franca of science, it is, therefore, important to have a global consensus on English names to avoid misunderstandings in communication. At the same time, regional and local bird names in a variety of languages are to be encouraged to support local citizen science and culture.

English-language names:

English is the language of international communication. English bird names therefore must serve a dual purpose: they must facilitate global communication while – at the same time – satisfying the communication needs of local and regional English-speaking communities. The two purposes are sometimes at loggerheads. Therefore, a sustainable solution will only be achieved if multiple names are permitted. The IOU is committed to supporting regional and national entities which undertake efforts to capture, document, and standardize the English bird names for their respective regions. For instance, the local names of cosmopolitan bird species may well differ among English-speaking communities in North America, South Africa, the British Isles, South and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. No region or country should be forced to give up names that have been in long-established local or regional usage at the expense of a prescribed global name.

Unique common English names:

For academic communication, for example as part of the global taxonomic list of birds currently in preparation, it is important that there is listed at least one unique common English name for each bird species. Technological advances allow such unique names to be cross-listed with all other English or non-English vernacular names. In many databases, users can specify their preferred local variety of English, allowing the respective regional or national names to be displayed in lieu of the unique common English name. In listing English names, the IOU attempts to capture the diversity of name usages that have existed through ornithological history, but at no point passes judgment on the political, societal, cultural, geographic or ecological appropriateness of such names.

Very happy to see this, I expect nothing less of IOC. This basically exactly summarizes my thoughts on the matter. I have long suspected eBird may retain honorifics at least as a language option, this only supports that idea. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

 

[mb1848]

Someone mentioned that AOS list only has species, since 1957. They recomend:
"Although a complete revision of North American avian subspecies has not been done, we refer readers to Avibase, Clements, and other checklists" Including Howard & Moore and IOC.

 

[Lerxst]

Are they all problematic?

To some people, oh yes.

 

[dantheman]

Given the number of sparrows that have patronyms, it is rather tempting to suggest the "Cisticola method" for new names. Zitting Sparrow, Chirruping Sparrow, Winding Sparrow, Rattling Sparrow, Churring Sparrow, Wailing Sparrow....

Surely that would be ist against deaf or older people ??

And also people who are a bit deaf, or a bit old, like me or just not that great at identifying similar wheezing random noises ... ;-) also like me ...

On the other hand it would really fire up the non-birders and get them interested in Sparrow id ... hmmm ...


(Apologies for quoting your post again Jacana, and quoting myself ... lol)

(I'm also having a bit of a mental block and can't think of a suitable correct term for 'ist' in this context)

;-)

 

[Xenospiza]

Anyway, without expressing my thoughts on what I think of this all... here's my list!

Ross’s Goose – Polar Goose
Steller’s Eider – Brown-bellied Eider (just to annoy everyone)
Barrow’s Goldeneye – Iceland Goldeneye (as in Dutch)
Gambel’s Quail – Sonora Quail
Montezuma Quail – Calavera Quail (the Spanish word for skull: its face pattern reminds me of the "Dia de los Muertos" skulls!)
Vaux’s Swift – Western Swift (plenty of such boring names for less boring birds)
Rivoli’s Hummingbird – Magnificent Hummingbird (reinstated)
Anna’s Hummingbird – Red-headed Hummingbird
Costa’s Hummingbird – Mojave Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird – Los Angeles Hummingbird (I thought of "Californian Hummingbird" too, but that's a bit boring)
Ridgway’s Rail – Pacific Rail (old proposal)
Clark’s Grebe – Imitator Grebe
Wilson’s Plover – Thick-billed Plover (as proposed)
Baird’s Sandpiper – Long-winged Sandpiper
Wilson’s Snipe – 16-Rectriced Snipe (I wanted the obvious "North American Snipe", but with all the nastiness of Amerigo Vespucci that may be a bad idea!)
Wilson’s Phalarope – Great Phalarope (as in Dutch)
Sabine’s Gull – Fork-tailed Gull (as in Dutch)
Bonaparte’s Gull – Tundra Gull
Ross’s Gull – Rosy Gull (as proposed)
Franklin’s Gull – Prairie Gull
Heermann’s Gull – Sea Elephant Gull
Cabot’s Tern – Gulf Tern
Forster’s Tern – Pale-winged Tern
Kittlitz’s Murrelet – Glacier Murrelet
Scripps’s Murrelet – Channel Islands Murrelet
Craveri’s Murrelet – Baja California Murrelet
Cassin’s Auklet – Lead-colored Auklet
Wilson's Storm Petrel – Whale Storm Petrel
Leach's Storm Petrel – Bounding Storm Petrel
Tristram's Storm Petrel – Sooty Storm Petrel (alternative name apparently)
Murphy’s Petrel – Austral Petrel (avoiding Pitcairn for obvious reasons)
Cook’s Petrel – Titi Petrel (from Maori)
Cory’s Shearwater – Yellow-billed Shearwater (from German)
Buller’s Shearwater – New Zealand Shearwater
Newell’s Shearwater – Ao Shearwater (from Hawaiian ‘A‘o)
Audubon’s Shearwater – Caribbean Shearwater
Brandt’s Cormorant – Kelp Cormorant
Cooper’s Hawk – Pale-naped Hawk
Harris’s Hawk – Desert Hawk (as in Dutch)
Swainson’s Hawk – Prairie Hawk (as in Dutch)
Lewis’s Woodpecker – Flycatcher Woodpecker (an odd bird deserves an odd name)
Williamson’s Sapsucker – Black Sapsucker
Nuttall’s Woodpecker – Californian Woodpecker
Strickland’s Woodpecker – Brown-backed Woodpecker (reinstated)
Say’s Phoebe – Red-bellied Phoebe
Hammond’s Flycatcher – Spruce Flycatcher
Couch’s Kingbird – Rio Grande Kingbird
Cassin’s Kingbird – White-cheeked Kingbird
Hutton’s Vireo – Kinglet Vireo (I thought this one is obvious)
Cassin’s Vireo – Grey-headed Vireo
Bell’s Vireo – Willow Vireo
Steller’s Jay – Black-and-blue Jay
Woodhouse's Scrub Jay – Juniper Scrub Jay
Clark’s Nutcracker – Tricolored Nutcracker
Bewick’s Wren – Long-tailed Wren
Bendire’s Thrasher – Grassland Thrasher
LeConte’s Thrasher – Desert Thrasher
Townsend’s Solitaire – Northern Solitaire
Swainson’s Thrush – Rusty-backed Thrush
Bicknell’s Thrush – Timberline Thrush
Sprague’s Pipit – Prairie Pipit
Cassin’s Finch – Pine Finch
Lawrence’s Goldfinch – Gray Goldfinch
Smith’s Longspur – Rusty Longspur
McKay’s Bunting – Ice Bunting (Bering Sea would introduce another patronym, St Matthew is obviously impossible as well)
Botteri’s Sparrow – Gray-winged Sparrow
Cassin’s Sparrow – Scaly-mantled Sparrow
Bachman’s Sparrow – Pinewoods Sparrow (as proposed)
Brewer’s Sparrow – Brushland Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow – Black-bearded Sparrow
Bell’s Sparrow – Chaparral Sparrow
LeConte’s Sparrow – Orange-browed Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow – Sharp-tailed Sparrow (reinstated)
Baird’s Sparrow – Dakota Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow – Olive-browed Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow – Pin-striped Sparrow
Abert’s Towhee – Arizona Towhee
Scott’s Oriole – Yucca Oriole
Audubon’s Oriole – Green-backed Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole – White-shouldered Oriole
Brewer’s Blackbird – Glossy Blackbird
Bachman’s Warbler – Carolina Warbler
Swainson’s Warbler – Rufous-capped Warbler
Lucy’s Warbler – Red-rumped Warbler
Virginia’s Warbler – Gray-and-yellow Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler – Eye-ringed Warbler
Kirtland’s Warbler – Michigan Warbler (I like Jackpine Warbler too, but why not name a warbler after a state where it actually occurs for a change?)
Blackburnian Warbler – Flame-faced Warbler
Audubon’s Warbler – Yellow-patched Warbler
Grace’s Warbler – Yellow-faced Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler – Black-and-yellow Warbler (Hemlock Warbler I like as well)
Wilson’s Warbler – Black-capped Warbler
Morelet’s Seedeater – Buff-collared Seedeater

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

To some people, oh yes.

Some people don't mean all people.

 

[mb1848]

"the wholly benign Robert Cushman Murphy" Ha! The chemical-industrial complex and the manufacturers of DDT would not see it that way.
MURPHY v. BUTLER, 362 U.S. 929 (1960) .

 

[Lerxst]

They are not in North America, but what about naming birds after Atilla? How many people did that Hun kill?

For that matter, "Tyrant flycatcher" is kind of problematic. Why saddle so many birds with such a name?

 

[Lerxst]

Some people don't mean all people.

Indeed, thank God. Remember, we have people over here in the USA that want to remove Abraham Lincoln.

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

They are not in North America, but what about naming birds after Atilla? How many people did that Hun kill?

For that matter, "Tyrant flycatcher" is kind of problematic. Why saddle so many birds with such a name?

Better : Anous stolidus means "idiot stupid". Why couldn't a scientific name be more insulting and problematic than an eponym?

 

[Xenospiza]

Given the number of sparrows that have patronyms, it is rather tempting to suggest the "Cisticola method" for new names. Zitting Sparrow, Chirruping Sparrow, Winding Sparrow, Rattling Sparrow, Churring Sparrow, Wailing Sparrow....

It was interesting to try and find distinguishing features for the sparrows.
I only really failed for Baird's (although "buff-faced" might fit) and Brewer's (could only think of "drab" and that's not nice).
Their songs are not so easy to describe either, haha!

 

[dantheman]

It was interesting to try and find distinguishing features for the sparrows.
I only really failed for... Brewer's (could only think of "drab" and that's not nice).
Their songs are not so easy to describe either, haha!

Sparrow-like Sparrow

...

(cf 'European Rarities' thread recent posts)

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

Sparrow-like Sparrow

...

(cf 'European Rarities' thread recent posts)

Sparrow-like Bunting 😏

 

[dantheman]

Sparrow-like Bunting 😏

Dah, you're probably right ... !


I'll go for 'Sparrow-like New World Sparrow' then ...

 

[angusmcoatup]

It was interesting to try and find distinguishing features for the sparrows.
I only really failed for Baird's (although "buff-faced" might fit) and Brewer's (could only think of "drab" and that's not nice).
Their songs are not so easy to describe either, haha!

No possibility of “Short-toed”, “Medium toed”, Long Toed” ?

 

[dantheman]

Is the thread currently overlapping with/fast becoming the 'Least Inspiring Bird Name' thread ... (or Worst Possible New Bird Name)

??

;-)

 

[Jos Stratford]

Solution for Baird's Sparrow is simple - change to the 'Sparrow formerly known as Baird's '