Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!oliveb!oliven!mjm
From: mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: English & Latin Bird Names
Message-ID: <53546@oliveb.olivetti.com>
Date: 12 Jan 90 00:03:23 GMT
References: <1990Jan10.212757.22128@utzoo.uucp>
Sender: news@oliveb.olivetti.com
Lines: 41

In article <1990Jan10.212757.22128@utzoo.uucp>, rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) writes:
> 
> Of course the NA English common names change, too ... 
> Some of these changes are made in an attempt to obtain conformity
> with English usage (e.g., Common Gallinule to Common Moorhen--although
> the British simply call it the Moorhen!).  
                                 ^^^^^^^

	It seems that the British had this habit of giving the generic
family name as the common english name to those birds represented in
Britain by a single species of the family. Other examples are the Wren,
the Jay, and the Nuthatch. In North America we know the Wren as the
Winter Wren, in order to tell it from the eight other wren species that
we have. 

> Every new addition, the Americans pick up a few
> more British common names (Dunlin, Peregrine, Whimbrel in 1956;
> Moorhen and some others this time), but there are still a substantial
> number of differences (e.g. Annika refers to the Common Loon; that's
> Great Northern Diver in England; and the NA folks hang on to Oldsquaw,
> and various jaegers and murres, to name some).

	I think that the AOU has taken some decent strides recently in
trying to standardize the common english names used in North America
with those being used in other parts of the world. Some more examples
would be Black-Shouldered Kite, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel,
and Merlin; just to name a few raptors. However, it seems that the
BOU would have to reciprocate a little in order to alleviate the some-
what confusing situation mentioned above.

> One of my favorites is Geai bleu.
> Try to guess what a Paruline a tete cendree (without accent
> marks, yet), an Effraie de clocher, or a Goglu are.
> Incidentally, we're beginning to get Dur-bec des pins just 
> north of Toronto, now.

	Well, you've certainly piqued my interest. The only word
that looks familiar is Paruline, which I would associate with
Parula, leading me to guess that it is a Northern Parula.

Mike