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Message: <blockquote data-quote="janvanderbrugge" data-source="post: 3952297" data-attributes="member: 137246">We all learn from our errors . . .The text given by or referred to by Laurent and Björn gave me reason to look up things in my Hebrew Old Testament Bible, because of the botanical name Malva. There was a reference in a plant book: Job 6: 6-7, but at first I only found: "is there any taste in the white of an egg"! Well, we haven't yet discussed bird eggs in this subforum, but linguistically it is quite interesting: the Hebrew word "halamuth" is supposed not to be that stuff (in older translations), but to refer to a plant of the Malvaceae, in modern Hebrew halamith, for Malva plants (M.sylvestris or M.nicaeensis).I suppose you know Malva, a common roadside wort with pink flowers, in Dutch "kaasjeskruid" (wort with little cheeses, for the shape of its ring of seeds). The medical use is attached to the Marshmallow, which as an ingredient of (less healthy) sweets of pink-and-yellow colours nowadays is especially popular for roasting at a camping fire (in Dutch the plant name is Heemst, the sweets have always been called spekjes = baconies . . .) Famous members of the Malvaceae family are Cotton and Hollyhock, and many Hibiscus species.My list of Swallows names showed an omission, so here is another use in errors: I found Leach's name Hirundo urbica for the House Martin.About eggs, I like to share this with you, as a little joke:On the melody of Elvis' Love me tender (that song is based on a lovely old song "Aura Lee' (1860s), which I keep in my collection of "bird songs"), there is a very short song phrase (only 2 lines), which goes like this:If an egg falls on a rock, too bad for the egg . . .But if a rock falls on an egg, . . . . .Well, you can fill out this line yourself (and sing or hum on, just while you're busy at other things)Enjoy, Jan van der Brugge (amply interested in too many themes, sigh)Björn, I feel with you for losing Holm in nomenclature (maybe there is still some moss or fly called for your capital <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />) The ornithological name hollandicus was not given for Holland nor amsterdamensis for the Dutch capital . . . And breda (Mathews) not for my birth town Breda, of all places (if wished, I'll give the etymology, but that's even more off-topic).Returning to our subject: there is a subspecies melbina in Pseudopyga griseopyga, given as Hirundo p.g. by Verreaux & Verreaux in 1851. Any explanation would only point to resemblance with melba, I suppose.</blockquote>

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