New York Bird ID Help Please (1 Viewer)

[Steve25]

I have a friend holidaying in New York at the moment who has asked me to id this bird and I don't have a clue. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[KenM]

It's a Yellowthroat.

Cheers

 

[Steve25]

Thanks for the fast response. Ken.

 

[RJP]

Not to nitpick, but in case you don't know the full name is "Common Yellowthroat".

 

[KenM]

Not to nitpick, but in case you don't know the full name is "Common Yellowthroat".

Might be Common where you live Sunshine.....but bloody rare here! :smoke:

 

[KC Foggin]

It's proper name is 'Common Yellowthroat' I do hate the word Common used to name any bird though.

 

[etudiant]

It's proper name is 'Common Yellowthroat' I do hate the word Common used to name any bird though.

Amen to that! This bird is beautiful, not just 'common'.
The old name, Maryland Yellowthroat, was much nicer, poetic even.
Likewise still call them Myrtle Warblers, not Yellow Rumps.

 

[KC Foggin]

The old name, Maryland Yellowthroat, was much nicer, poetic even.
Likewise still call them Myrtle Warblers, not Yellow Rumps.

I did not know that and I certainly like that name a whole lot more.

 

[Andy Hurley]

Amen to that! This bird is beautiful, not just 'common'.
The old name, Maryland Yellowthroat, was much nicer, poetic even.
Likewise still call them Myrtle Warblers, not Yellow Rumps.

Yes, these old names have more character, but for reasons of disambiguation they have been rationalised. The word common refers to the abundance and not negative meaning that is used by people that still think they live in a feudal system where the lords and masters have to be obeyed. I thought that people on your side of the pond overthrew these imperialist types andtreat everyone as equals!
I forgot that money is the new master:-C

 

[etudiant]

Yes, these old names have more character, but for reasons of disambiguation they have been rationalised. The word common refers to the abundance and not negative meaning that is used by people that still think they live in a feudal system where the lords and masters have to be obeyed. I thought that people on your side of the pond overthrew these imperialist types andtreat everyone as equals!
I forgot that money is the new master:-C

Disambiguation, for Maryland Yellowthroat?
That is laughable on the face of it. Much more likely is that some dude who was jilted by a girl from Maryland decided he could get even by thrashing this lovely birds name.
Sadly taxonomy is as much a human endeavor as everything else in ornithology. This simply illustrates that reality.

 

[Nutcracker]

Well, what would the inhabitants of Delaware say?? Why Maryland, and not Delaware? :-O

 

[etudiant]

Well, what would the inhabitants of Delaware say?? Why Maryland, and not Delaware? :-O

Delaware got The Last of the Mohicans and the Water Gap, they don't need to poach another states' warbler.

 

[fugl]

Yes, these old names have more character, but for reasons of disambiguation they have been rationalised. . .

"Disambiguation" how? To distinguish our bird from its Gray-crowned cousin in south Texas & Mexico? Maybe, but my guess is that "Common" was tacked on mostly out of tidy-mindedness on the part of those who dislike single-word bird names. As far as I'm concerned we don't need a modifier but if we had to have one "Northern" would fit the bill a lot better than "Common" (though "Maryland" would definitely be my first choice).

"Common" Kingfisher and "European" Robin. Forsooth!

 

[dacol]

Well, what would the inhabitants of Delaware say?? Why Maryland, and not Delaware? :-O

Not to mention Florida where we have them year around, both as breeders and as wintering birds.

 

[etudiant]

Not to mention Florida where we have them year around, both as breeders and as wintering birds.

While Maryland has prior rights, I'd be perfectly ok with Florida Warbler.
The 'Common' appellation does grate and seems gratuitous as well.

Could we propose that taxonomists be correspondingly identified, sort of like the medieval kings, maybe Pedantic Charles or Fat Fred?