Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!ncar!unmvax!nmtsun!john From: john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Latin names (was: Birding Magazines) Summary: Translating Latin names, specific and general references Message-ID: <3742@nmtsun.nmt.edu> Date: 12 Jan 90 23:18:58 GMT References: <5311@blake.acs.washington.edu> Reply-To: john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) Organization: Zoological Data Processing Lines: 55 Ann Harrington (annmh@blake.acs.washington.edu) writes: +--- | Speaking of Latin names of birds, does anyone know of a good small | handbook of same? Something that would give me a common name if I | knew the latin name would be very useful for certain translation | assignments that I have to do. I don't need descriptions or any | of the stuff that can be found in field guides, just a little | handbook of latin names/english (?) names. +--- I couldn't tell whether you were more interested in a specific checklist of birds with both English and Latin names, or a more general work discussing etymologies, Latin roots, and so on. ``Check-list of North American Birds,'' from the Tucson Audubon Society, is small (4.25" x 7.5", 24 pages) and cheap, and seems free of typographical errors. To order, send $1.50 for one copy and $1.25 for each additional copy to: The Audubon Nature Shop Tucson Audubon Society 300 East University Boulevard, #120 Tucson, AZ 85705 A fascinating general reference is ``Composition of Scientific Words'' by Roland Wilbur Brown. My copy is (c) 1956, published by the author, and I picked it up at a used bookstore. I don't know if it's still in print, but decent libraries should have it (perhaps even on the reference shelf). Brown's book lists English, Greek, and Latin words all together. For Greek and Latin words, definitions are given. The entry for an English word gives all the Greek and Latin roots with similar meanings, and often gives examples of organisms with names derived from these roots. This is a working manual for anyone interested in decoding the names of organisms. Some examples: _Mimus_polyglottos_: mimic many-tongues (N. Mockingbird) _Eurynorhynchus_pygmeus_: broadened-snout pygmy (Spoonbill Sandpiper) _Stelgidopteryx_serripennis_: scraper-wing saw-feather (N. Rough-winged Swallow) For the few people who describe and name new organisms, this book is a necessity. A friend of mine is an ichthyologist and has described and named several sharks. For example, one form he named is a little black shark that lives in a dark environment and is very rarely seen. Using Brown's book, he came up with``melanophasma,'' the little black ghost of the deep. -- John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, New Mexico USENET: ucbvax!unmvax!nmtsun!john CSNET: john@nmtsun.nmt.edu ``Let's go outside and commiserate with nature.'' --Dave Farber