Non-Europeans what European bird would you like to see? (1 Viewer)

[opisska]

So what IS the pronounciation of pauraque? Normally I ask google translate for pronounciation of obscure English, but for things like birds it's likely to fail.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Pah-rah-kee (not pah-rork as I imagined)

 

[david kelly]

Most English people say Who-poo but some say Who-po

And for the avoidance of doubt, a Scots birder would not pronounce the first syllable the same as some English birders. We would say hoo-poo. In Scots English who and hoo sound different. To me Wales and whales are not homophones, the cetacean sounds like “hwales”.

David

 

[opisska]

After all the talk about how it's unexpected, I was really sure that it would be very different from this. Because I always read it simply as if it were Spanish, which is pretty close to this transcription (this obviously comes easier for me because Spanish pronounciation is basically Czech with a few letters switched, but the logic is the same and very different from English).

 

[01101001]

the American Heritage Dictionary has it as poh-RAH-kay (pauraque)
Merriam Webster says it's pow-RAH-kay (Definition of PAURAQUE)
Forvo is sometimes helpful, but this time it yielded no useful results.
I, for one, am flattered that a narrator on a PBS documentary pronounced it puh-RAH-key (Improve Your English Pronunciation), which was my first thought.

who and hoo sound different

but you don't pronounce 'who' as 'hwo', do you? (unless it's in 'whoosh')

 

[Lerxst]

Every guide that has ever said it in my presence has said puh-RAK-key.

 

[david kelly]

[QUOTE="but you don't pronounce 'who' as 'hwo', do you? (unless it's in 'whoosh')
[/QUOTE]
Actually yes, we do. It’s a feature of some northern English and Scots and Irish dialects or accents. That’s how it was originally pronounced in older English but in some accents the distinction has disappeared.

David

 

[Nightjar61]

I've seen many of the birds discussed here, such as European Bee-eater, Eurasian Hoopoe, Wallcreeper, Long-tailed Tit, etc. It's hard to come up with a short list (because I'd like to see them all), but some I'd really love to see are Red-breasted Goose, Ural Owl, European Nightjar, and Eurasian Bullfinch.

Dave

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

I've birded in the WP quite a bit. The bird I'd most like to see is Tawny Owl. Just always seem to miss it.

 

[hookem2010]

Texan here. I've never been to Europe so my only European bird (outside of house sparrow, starling, etc.) was the crazy white wagtail that showed up in Austin, Texas right before the pandemic.
With little knowledge of y'alls birds, my top targets if I visited would probably be hoopoe and bee-eater.

 

[lgonz1008]

Never birded Europe, closest I've been to a true European bird is whenever a Ruff shows up in fall migration, so here are my top 10 birds I want to see in Europe (pretty much Spain and Sweden):

1. Western Capercaillie (I knew about this bird before I even cared for birds, so it's top 10 targets for my life list)
2. Wallcreeper
3. Great Bustard
4. Smew
5. Bearded Reedling
6. Long-tailed Tit
7. Black Woodpecker
8. Lammergeier
9. Spotted Nutcracker
10. Ural Owl

Honorable Mentions go to lekking Ruff or Great Snipe, and singing Common Cuckoo or Common Nightingale

 

[earlytorise]

Tawny Owl

Indeed, spotting one is quite a challenge in the UK, and I have never managed that. (Hearing one is much easier, though, especially in the woods.)

There are photography hides where you can sit and wait for a frequenting Tawny Owl to show up.

 

[Leafbringer]

I'd like to see a European robin, wood pigeon, jackdaw, common magpie and finches, like the bullfinch

 

[THE_FERN]

the American Heritage Dictionary has it as poh-RAH-kay (pauraque)
Merriam Webster says it's pow-RAH-kay (Definition of PAURAQUE)
Forvo is sometimes helpful, but this time it yielded no useful results.
I, for one, am flattered that a narrator on a PBS documentary pronounced it puh-RAH-key (Improve Your English Pronunciation), which was my first thought.


but you don't pronounce 'who' as 'hwo', do you? (unless it's in 'whoosh')

If it's really true that "pauraque" comes from the sound it makes (Wikipedia) then I've really no idea how to pronounce it as none of the versions above come close to its call. I always assumed it was Spanish and so say it "poor rak kay"

 

[opisska]

Indeed, spotting one is quite a challenge in the UK, and I have never managed that. (Hearing one is much easier, though, especially in the woods.)

There are photography hides where you can sit and wait for a frequenting Tawny Owl to show up.

Many of the birds people name here are present, but difficult in the UK, but easy in other parts of Europe. Tawny Owls are incredibly common in the Czech Republic and Poland (and I presume also in Germany, Austria, etc...) Now is the start of the season to hear their calls everywhere - following the calls, you can often see the owl with some effort. IR can help.

 

[opisska]

If it's really true that "pauraque" comes from the sound it makes (Wikipedia) then I've really no idea how to pronounce it as none of the versions above come close to its call. I always assumed it was Spanish and so say it "poor rak kay"

I wonder why so many people use "key" for "que" in English? If you want to follow Spanish pronunciation, "que" is a short syllable, I do not really know how to transcribe if for English people though, because there maybe just isn't such sound in normal English?

 

[Xenospiza]

A bird overlooked by our fellow non-Europeans is Black Grouse, which is a bit easier to see than Western Capercaillie (of which I still haven't seen a male...) but quite spectacular!

 

[opisska]

A bird overlooked by our fellow non-Europeans is Black Grouse, which is a bit easier to see than Western Capercaillie (of which I still haven't seen a male...) but quite spectacular!

Again, huge regional differences. South of Kirkenes, Capercaille was trivial to observe (just walk through the forests, they are common and showy in the open), while Black Grouse was secretive. In the Czech Republic or Poland, Black Grouse is indeed usually easier.

 

[Dortmundbirder]

Never birded Europe, closest I've been to a true European bird is whenever a Ruff shows up in fall migration, so here are my top 10 birds I want to see in Europe (pretty much Spain and Sweden):

1. Western Capercaillie (I knew about this bird before I even cared for birds, so it's top 10 targets for my life list)
2. Wallcreeper
3. Great Bustard
4. Smew
5. Bearded Reedling
6. Long-tailed Tit
7. Black Woodpecker
8. Lammergeier
9. Spotted Nutcracker
10. Ural Owl

Honorable Mentions go to lekking Ruff or Great Snipe, and singing Common Cuckoo or Common Nightingale

You could get all 10 in a single late winter/early spring trip in Germany with Lammergeier being the only one not really consistent.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Just to divert the discussion again; how about the pronunciation of Gerygone?