The identity of the "Skoorra" … in Danish and Latin (from 1767) (1 Viewer)

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Now let´s have a look at a fairly obscure bird ... a certain type of Duck.

Today´s HBW Alive Key tells us:

skoorra
Lapp names Skaar or Skoaar for a type of duck (?syn. Melanitta sp.)

My MS reads as follow:

skoorra
● in the invalid "Anas skoorra" GUNNERUS* 1767, here, bottom p.266 (repeated as "Anas skoorra" by MÜLLER 1776**, simply referring back to the same Gunnerus in "L.[eem's]", both Richmond cards attached, as well as Müller's p. 16, No. 130).
= the Local Sami name Skoorra, used by the Laplanders in Finnmark, northernmost Norway, for today's; Velvet Scoter (Oidemia) Melanitta fusca LINNAEUS 1758.

This "Skoorra" [double-o, double-r, ending -a] was, according to Sommerfelt 1861 (here and attached), what the Sami people/Laplanders (at least in the mid-1800's, in the same Finnmark, Norway) called "Anas fusca" [i.e. today's; Velvet Scoter (Oidemia) Melanitta fusca LINNAEUS 1758]. And I see no reason why it shouldn´t have been the same in Gunnerus's days.

According to Gunnerus 1767 the Sami (earlier "Lapp") name was written "Skoaarra" alt. "Skoaar", and according to Otto Fredrik Müller 1776 it was "Skaar", the latter most likely a simple typo, as Müller only referred to one single source; that one being Leem's [i.e. Gunnerus's]" Skoaarra"/"Skoaar".

Note that Sommerfelt lists the Laplander's name for the Common Scoter O./M. nigra as "Njurgo", which is the only other likely (Oidemia) Melanitta species (frequent in the same location). And that the only other somewhat similar species (if so, in appearance, considering males vs females alt. juveniles); the "Anas fuligula" [today's Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula] or the "Anas marila" [today's Scaup Aythya marila] was called "Utsa fjeltakasch" respectively "Fjeltak", by the Sami's. The latter Duck is in the same article noted as not very common in Finnmark. All three latter names quite different from, and hardly possible to confuse with, or misinterpret into; "Skoorra" (nor "Skoaarra" alt. "Skoaar")!?

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*Gunnerus, J. E.. 1767. 12. Kapitel. Om Finnmarkens vilde firefødde Dyr og Fugle, samt Lappernes Maade at fange dem paa [meaning something like; Chapter 12. On the wild four-feeted Animals, and Birds, of Finnmarken, and the Lapps way of catching them] /; Caput XII. De Feris Finmarchiæ qvadrupedibus & avibus, … etc. etc. (pp. 181-294) In; Leems, K. et al. 1767. Beskrivelse över Finnmarkens Lapper deres Tungemaal, Levemaade og forrige Afgudsdyrkelse, … . Kiøbenhavn [Copenhagen] 1767.

**Müller, O. F.. 1776. Zoologiæ Danicæ Prodromus, seu Animalium Daniæ et Norvegæ indigenarum characteres, nomina, et synonyma imprimis popularium, ... (here)
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[l_raty]

I think Velvet Scoter.

"A. Skoorra supra fusca punctis confertis; taenia alarum obliqua, maculaque utrinque ad basin rostri albis; hypochondriis ferrugineis."
Duck Skoorra brown above with thick spots; with white oblique bar on the wings, and [white] mark on each side at the base of the bill; with ferrugineous hypochondrium.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

But now let´s spend some time on a small detour of our usual task of solving etymologies, let´s do some (not Field, but Desk) Identification on this bird!

Let´s focus on the actual Identity itself, on what birds the Norwegian bishop (and Naturalist) Johan Ernst Gunnerus truly was studying when he described the Original first, this (at least what he thought or assumed was) what he called "Skoaarra". That´s the most intriguing part, the main reason for this thread.

Was it really specimens of Velvet Scoters Mr. Gunnerus was studying? Maybe he (or his supplier Mr. Weldingh) misunderstood what species they´d got hold on, simply believing what they´d been told, taking it for granted? In any case there sure wasn´t any adult male birds involved.

So let´s follow that somewhat odd query. I will now on focus on the Gunnerus's morphological description, in Danish (it´s fairly close to Swedish and quite, at least most of it, fully understandable), but there is a Latin version side by side of it (if anyone's interested, and find that language easier, I sure don´t). I have translated the Danish text as good as I can into English (as I assume Danish is as tricky as Swedish for most Bird Forum readers).

So what does Gunnerus tell us of this bird, way back in 1767? He begins, on p.266, after having dealt with the Swans and the Wild Geese of Finnmark [Finmarken], with the the following text [from here on, while dealing with Gunnerus's text, my comments in blue (simply thinking out loud)]:

"Ænder gives i Finmarken af adskillige Slag, der baade ere yndelige af Farve og nydelige af Smag. Sammesteds forekommer en Fugl af en liden Ands Storlighed, sort af Farve, og havende sit Tilhold i salte Vande og ferske Søer. Lapperne kalde den: Skoaarra (116)." ("In Finnmark there are several different Ducks, which are both nice in Colour and enjoyable in Taste. In the same Place a Bird in the size of a small Duck is present, black in Colour, staying in salt Water and fresh Lakes. The Lapps called it: Skoaarra (116)."

So we´ve got; a Bird, the size of a small Duck, general impression Black [at distance I assume], found both at Sea and in Fresh Water Lakes.

Well, that narrows it down, but far, far from any satisfactory Identification.

In the Foot-note, No. 116, on the same page in the book, Gunnerus explains, far more in detail, from the specimens in front of him:

"Af dette rare Slags And har Hr. Weldingh indsendt mig adskillige Exemplarer med det Lappiske Navn: Skoaar." ("Of this rare Duck has Mr. Weldingh sent me several specimens with the Lappish Name; Skoaar.")

"Den er af en middelmaadig Ands Størrelse, oven paa sortebruun med smaa hvide isprengte Prikker, synderlig øverst paa Ryggen og Vingerne. ("It´s a middle-Sized duck, on the upper side blackish-brown sprinkled with small white Dots, particularly on the upper Back and Wings.")

Makes me think of a Red-throated Diver (or Loon) Gavia stellata!? But surely it ought to be a Duck (even if they weren´t that picky in that Era!?)

However, let's see, Gunnerus continues:

"Halsen og Brystet tilligemed den bagerste Deel af Bugen og Stiertens Underdeel ere noget lysere end Ryggen med en Hoben bølgagtige Striber, synderlig paa den nederste Deel af Brystet." ("The neck and Chest till the backer part of the Belly and the lower side of the Tail are somewhat lighter than the back with a clutch of wavy Lines, particularly on the lowest parts of the Chest.")

Still sounds like a possible Diver/Loon!? Gunnerus goes on:

"For Resten er den neden under hviid, men paa Siderne, for en stor Deel, rostfarved." ("The Rest of the below is white, but on the sides, for a large Part, rusty coloured.").

Oupps; Female/Juvenile Scaup Aythya marila or Female/Juvenile Velvet Scoter. ! Those rusty red flanks can sometimes, at close range, look a bit wave-like.

"Sving-Fierene af første Orden ere sorte-brune, dog med den Forskiel, at de fem yderste og længste, i Henseende til den indre Side; men de følgende, i Henseende til den yttre Side, ere hviid-agtige. "(Tricky sentence …meaning somtehing like: "The Wing-Feathers of the first Order [Primaries?] is blackish-brown, but with the distinction, that the five outermost and longest […] differ compared to the inner ones […] which are white-ish."

Still works, better on Female/Juvenile Scaup Aythya marila, there´s a difference in colour on their Primaries.

To be continued ...
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[l_raty]

Yes, there it looks much more conclusively like a female scaup, I must agree. And in fact when looking at Müller's Latin text, it might be read as a shortened version of the Danish text as well.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

"De smaa Sving-Fiere (som alle ere omtrent nesten lige lange) ere hvide og ikkun [ikkun is an old Danish adverbium, ikke uden (in today's Danish meaning; kun alt. blot)] sortebrune i Enderne; og heraf kommer det, at man seer en skiev hviid [?] Streg paa hver Vinge." ("The small Wing-Feathers [Secondaries?] (which all are about of the same length) are white and only blackish-brown at the Ends; by which one sees a broad [skiev?] white Line on each Wing")

Any dark ends of the white Secondaries (if Secondaries?) ought to rule out the Velvet Scoter!?

"Nebbet er udvidet og tilligemed Fødderne sort. Stierten et Par gode Tommer lang og spids i Enden, og halv saa kort som Fødderne. Ved hver Side af Over-Nebbets Rod er en temmelig stor hviid Flek, som man ikke synderlig seer noget til ved Mundvigen." ("The Bill is expanded and like the Feet black. The Tail is a good Pair of Thumbs long [one Tomme/Thumb is 25,4 mm, giving us a tail about, or just a little longer than, 5-6 cm] and pointy at End, and about half as short as the Feet. By each Side, at the hold of the Upper-beak [i.e. Maxilla] is a rather large white Spot, which one doesn´t see much of at the Corner of the Mouth.")

Here it gets tricky. The (non-male) Scaup have a grey Bill and Grey Feet, the ditto Velvet Scoter a darker grey (ok, blackish) Bill, but reddish-brown Feet. The Tail of the Velvet Scoter could be called "spiky", and the white Spot varies a lot in borth species, even if the description of it not reaching the mouth gap fits better on the Velvet Scoter!?

Gunnerus finishes his description (on pp. 266-267) with the sentence:

"Denne Ands Character kan altsaa kortelig saaledes udtrykkes" ("The Characters of this Duck can thereby in short be expressed as"): Anas Skoorra supra fusca, punctis minimis confertis adspersis, tænia alarum obliqva & macula magna utrinqve ad basin rostri albis hypokondriis ferrugineis."

"Maaskee denne nye Art af And, som ikke, saa vidt jeg seer, findes hos udenlandske Ornithologos, bliver den samme som Hr. Brünniches Anas latirostra i hans Ornith. p. 21. n. 91." ("Maybe this new Duck, which, as far as I can tell, is not found by [in the Works of] Foreign Ornithologist, turn out to be the same as Mr. Brünnich's Anas latirostra, in his Ornith. [Ornithologia Borealis 1764] p. 21. n. 91." [here, which (if I´ve got it right?) is a junior synonym of today's Common Scoter (Oidemia) Melanitta nigra LINNAEUS 1758]

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That´s it! End of Gunnerus's entry on this mysterious Bird. The following ones, No.117, is the "Anas molissima", today's (Common) Eider, No. 118 is (most likely!?) the Common Loon/Great Northern Diver Gavia immer and No. 119 is today's Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon Gavia arctica, No. 120 the Cormorant, No. 121 the Fulmar … and so on.

Why Gunnerus found it suitable to turn the "Skoaarra" or "Skoaar" into "Anas Skoorra" in Latin (why he, from the initial Skoaa…-spelling, dropped the double-a's and replaced them with only double-o's) is incomprehensible to me, maybe it´s a Latin thing?

However: Has anyone of you guys "out there" got any idea what bird Gunnerus was trying to describe? For sure we´re talking of either juveniles or female birds, but of what species? The first part, the white-dotted upper side, the colouration of the Bill and Feet (do they darken much, post mortem!?) and the precise meaning of the wing description, makes me somewhat uncertain. Maybe Mr. Weldingh sent Gunnerus a mixed collection of Scaups and Scoters!? Remember, they mustn´t have been seen, nor collected, together, in the wild … ? Maybe Gunnerus didn´t realize he was studying samples of two separate species? Who knows?

Does the Latin version of Gunnerus's text say just about the same … or is something added?

And if someone with better knowledge of Danish would feel like doing a better translation, and put me straigt, please do, it´s more than welcome. Old-school, 18th Century Danish, is (for sure) not my home turf. Any old-school Danish linguists around? Maybe my whole confusion is due to my own misinterpreted translation!

Or has anyone already identified it?

Björn

PS. A more fluent Danish transcription, written in modern letters (without me babbling irritatingly between every second sentence) is found here, foot-note No. 116, far down the Page. But beware; there are a few typos in it! To be safe, compare with the original text.

PPS. In any case, regarding the etymology itself (regardless of whatever bird Gunnerus had in front of him and what he believed); Skoorra was the Sami name for the Velvet Scoter!
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[l_raty]

Here is the Latin (more or less; as a reminder, original [here]):

(116) Anas Lapponica, Skoorra vel (quo nomine a V.D. Weldingh ex Varangria missa est) Skoaar, est fere magnitudine anatis domesticae feminae, superne fusca, multis parvis maculis vel punctis in dorso & humeris alarum copiosissime adspersis, & magna macula alba utrinque ad basin mandibulae superioris sternum album.

(116) The Lappish duck, Skoorra or (under which name it was sent from Varangria by VD Weldingh) Skoaar, is almost the size of a female domestic duck, brown above, with many small marks and dots copiously sprinkled on the back and on the arms of the wings, and a large white patch on each side next to the white base of the upper mandible.

(The end is imperfectly translated; not sure of what "sternum" means here. If it indeed means "sternum", then I feel that "Sternum album." should be preceded by a period, and fully separated from the rest of the sentence. But this is not so in the original. "Sternum album" would presumably then mean "White chest.", which is a bit odd... In fact, the word sternum doesn't exist in classical Latin at all.)

Iugulum, praesertim vero pectus, una cum tectricibus caudae inferioribus ex parte, sordide undulata. Latera ferruginea. Abdomen fuscescens. Rostrum ampliatum & pedes, cauda cuneiformi duplo longiores, nigra. Alae complicatae ad uropygium pertingunt.

Throat, and particularly the breast, as well as the untertail coverts in part, waved dark. Flanks rusty. Belly brown. Broadened bill and feet, twice longer than the wedge-shaped tail, black. The folded wings extend to the uropygium.

Remigum primarium 5 longissimae margine exteriore fuscae; reliquae autem ibidem albidae, margine interiore, & adhuc magis extremitatibus, fuscis. Secundariae albae, extremitate fusca, punctis minutissimis obsoletis adspersis margineque interiore etiam in nonnullis exemplaribus parum fuscescente, inde macula alarum alba, qua propter tectrices superiores longiores fuscae, fere ut linea vel taenia oblique adparet.

The 5 longest primary flight feathers dark on the outer edge; the others being whitish on the same place, with dark inner edge and still darker tips. Secondaries white, dark at the tip, with very small indistinct scattered dots, and also in some individuals the inner edge slightly brownish, forming a white wing patch, which along the dark greater upperwing coverts, appears almost as an oblique line or band.

Alae subtus sordide albidae & ex parte cinereae. Hinc character erit: Anas Skoorra supra fusca, punctis minimis confertis adspersis, taeniae alarum oblique & macula magna utrinque ad basin rostris albis, hypochondriis ferrugineis.

Underwing dirty whitish, and in part grey. Hence, the characterization will be: Anas Skoorra brown above with densely sprinkled very small dots; with white oblique wing band, and large mark on each side at the base of the bill; with ferrugineous hypochondrium.


With this, the bird fits scaup pretty well, I think, except indeed for the bare parts colour. But bare parts colour on specimens usually have little meaning.

 

[mb1848]

A biography of Hr. Weldingh.
http://runeberg.org/dbl/18/0379.html .
They still get scoters in Varangia.
http://birdingfrontiers.com/2011/06/21/stejnegers-scoter-norway .

 

[njlarsen]

Could the work "skiev" be an old form of the Danish word "skæv"? I saw a title of a Norwegian webpage that seems to indicate that it could be used in a similar sense. If my idea is correct, then it would indicate that the white line is not parallel to the front or back of the wing, but that it is a bit diagonal.

Niels

 

[l_raty]

Could the work "skiev" be an old form of the Danish word "skæv"? I saw a title of a Norwegian webpage that seems to indicate that it could be used in a similar sense. If my idea is correct, then it would indicate that the white line is not parallel to the front or back of the wing, but that it is a bit diagonal.

Niels

"taeniae alarum oblique": same meaning.

(In German, it is "schief", so the central "ie" is certainly not unseen. In English: "skew".)

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Thanks Laurent for translating the Latin text. I wasn´t all that lost. Also thanks to Niels confirming, and Mark for additional info on Mr. (Christian)
Weldingh.

Could the work "skiev" be an old form of the Danish word "skæv"? ...

And in Swedish we have the word skev, meaning; slant, wry, etc. ... simply missed that one!

I´ll be back later, with an attempt to conlude this thread.

Meanwhile; Still today the Sami (sámegiella) name for the Velvet Scoter is: Skoarra. Compare with the following contemporary Wiki- link, listing various Sami languages, here:

Skoarra (Melanitta fusca) (ubmisámegillii skårra, julevsámegillii skoarra, anárašgillii kuulnâs, nuortalašgillii kuõlŋâs) lea vuojašloddi. Skoarra lea buokčevuojaš.

I thereby assume it´s fair to say: The etymology of the name itself is the one of the Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca, unregardless of what species Gunnerus thougt he was describing. I guess he never should have listened to what Mr. Weldingh told him!

Björn

PS. Also see this link, here (a German edition, 1771, of Leem's work from 1767). Anything added?
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[mb1848]

Anything added? No. But I noticed for the first time the reference to Brunnich's latirostra.
http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/fs1/object/display/bsb10306825_00031.html .
Bjorn where did you see it as a junior synonym of Common Scoter?
This is an Aldovandrus or Gesner name, associated with Ferruginous Duck, by Salvadori in 1895 but with a question mark.
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/34500#page/367/mode/1up .
I have also seen Anas latirostra called Tufted Duck and Shoveler!

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Bjorn where did you see it as a junior synonym of Common Scoter? ...

Here, I assume, but it might be a misstake, I could have missed the question mark, since/because I haven´t looked into the identity of "Anas scandica" GMELIN 1789 myself. In that thread I simply questioning the Danish explantion/connection of/to Scandinavia.

I will, if given time. It does seem related to the issue of this thread.

Thanks for alerting me.

 

[l_raty]

Brünnich's Anas latirostra

LATIROSTRA rostro ampliato, corpore supra nigro, linea alari alba; pectore & abdomine albis, hypochondriis ferrugineis. E Christiansöe. Descr. Rostro lato ampliato; capite, collo thoraceque ex spadiceo fusca, caput ad basin rostri pallide flavescens; dorsum, alae & cauda nigra; remiges secundariae albae apice nigrae, hinc linea alaris alba; pectus & abdomen alba postice cinerea; tectrice hypocondriorum ferrugineae.

LATIROSTRA (= "Broad-billed") with enlarged bill, black upper body, with a white wing line; white chest and abdomen, hypochondria rusty. From Christiansø. Description. Broad enlarged bill; head, neck and thorax of a chestnut brown, head at the base of the bill pale yellowish; back, wings and tail black; secondary flight feathers white, black at the tip, hence the white wing line; chest and abdomen white, posteriorly gray; coverts of the hypocondria rusty.

I'm not sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure Melanitta nigra is not the answer.

 

[James Jobling]

Brunnich's Anas latirostra has something of a moulting Common Eider Somateria about it, don't you think?

 

[l_raty]

If the description of the wing pattern is accurate (white secondaries with black tips, forming a white wing bar in an otherwise dark wing), this indicates an Aythya, I think. But of course, if it is not accurate and the white is actually somewhere on the coverts, then a lot of other things become possible.

Is there something in the description that really excludes a juvenile scaup?

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Conclusion ...

Sorry for the delay, but thats my opinion as well, Laurent (regardless of the Identity of Brünnich's "Anas latirostra" 1764), and I see no reason to doubt Gunnerus's description, he was quite an experienced ornithologist, so let´s return to the skoorra/Velvet Scoter ...

Mr. Leem had actually once before mentioned the "Skoaarra" (however, no scientific, but same spelling of the Trivial, name), this time even earlier, back in 1756, and this time without Gunnerus, but himself personally (in this case pre-1758, before the start of modern scientific nomenclature), in his En Lappesk Nomenclator, efter Den Dialect, som bruges af Field-Lapperne i Porsanger-Fjorden (A Lapp Nomenclature, following the Dialect, used by the Fjell-Lapps in Porsangerfjorden [located in Finnmark]), p.155, here, (or attached excerpt):

"En Fugl af en liden Ands Storlighed, sort af Farbe, og holdende sig i salte Vande og ferske Søer Skoaarra. Nominat. pl: Skooarak .
(A bird in the size of a small Duck, black in colour, present in salt Water and fresh Lakes. Skoaarra. Nominat. pl: Skooarak (pl. for plural, i assume?)

That´s all! Nothing added but the "pl." (plural?). We recognize this short description, apparently black being the main character, from the start of Gunnerus's text.

[Any Danish readers, if you read it full-page text, don´t get confused by Leem's description of the next-following bird. I sure did! At first; Black, red feet, white on wings. Nearly fooled me. But that´s the Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle. ]

In any case; Truly identifying the Skoaarra/skoorra has apparently caused some confusion over the years! The Swedish Prof. Anders Retzius (in Faunae Suecicae à Linné inchoatae pars prima, 1800) notes, quite correctly, indeed, that the "Anas Skoorra" (here) is different from "Anas Alandica" [which in its turn, as earlier discussed here on Bird forum, was a young female (Common/Northern) Pintail Anas acuta]! That we can all agree on. Yet another Swedish Professor (and an even better Ornithologist!), Sven Nilsson, lists it in his Ornithologica Svecica II (1821) here, as a synonym of "Anas fuligula" [today's Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula]. Close, but still hard to fully agree on.

I guess neither none of them had studied Gunnerus's Original Danish (and Latin) text as careful as we´ve done in this thread.

Now, thanks to you all, with joint efforts,, with proper understanding of the Original text, incl. the white pattern on the wing (the most unveiling character) and the white sports on the back possibly being newly replaced feathers, into first winter plumage [with the, as Laurent did point out, "bare parts colour" left aside, as "… on specimens usually have little meaning")] I think it´s fairly safe to claim that Gunnerus when introducing the Sami name for the Velvet Scoter, into the Scientific nomenclature, he actually described specimens of the (Greater) Scaup Aythya marila!

Most likely they were juvenile, female (first winter?) birds, see for example; here, here, here or here … and so on.

Also compare with the text and plate for juvenile Scaups in Lars Svensson's Collins Bird Guide.

Etymology– in short:
● skoorra
= from the Sami name Skoorra alt. Skoaarra for the Velvet Scoter (Oidemia) Melanitta fusca, that entered the scientific nomenclature, via Gunnerus, when he, in fact, described juveniles alt. females (Greater) Scaup Aythya marila LINNAEUS 1761.

Odd, and simply just fun-to-know. Clearly Mr. Weldingh (or the Sami who told him) wasn´t a man to be trusted. Luckily it didn´t stick!

The alternate spelling Skoaar (without the ending -a) is, apparently not being the singular form, most likely a simple misunderstanding or typo.

Anyone think otherwise?

If not: skoorra/Skoaarra … over and out!

Björn

PS. If that Wiki-page of various Sami names on the Velvet Scoter (link in post #10, and the pages linked to it) is correct, the Sami language spoken at Varanger (Varangria) and Porsangerfjorden, both in Norternmost Norway, out to be Davvisámegiella, that being the most likely tongue of fhat Mr. Weldingh once heard. Unfortunatelly the precise Davvisámegiella contemporary word for our bird, the Velvet Scoter, isn´t there.

In any case; remember that Sami* nowadays no longer is considered one single language (here), as it used to be (i.e. by non-Sami's). Today it´s acknowledged as a language group, of different sub-groups, etc. etc., each one of various, several, different (some very different), separate, tongues and dialects.

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*The collective term is Sami (a k a Saami, Sámi, Saame, Samic, or Saamic), no longer the pejoratives; Lappish alt. Lappic or Lapp, which today is considered derogatory terms (terms of abuse).
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