Informal poll

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Daniel Rancour-Laferriere wrote:

> Dear Paul,
> Thanks for that reference to the 1994 volume on bird names.  Looks like 
> the authors are lumpers, not splitters, as they speak of 8,500 species 
> of birds, while David Sibley (don't have his volume at hand) lists over 
> 9,000.

Hm. Perhaps the definitions of "species" vary -- it's been known to 
happen... ;-)

They don't mention Sibley in their list of sources, which I can send 
privately if you like.

> I note that of the 5 species of Buteo termed buzzards in the volume you 
> cite, none occur in North America (the ones listed in the _Sibley Guide 
> to Birds_ [2000] for North America, and termed "hawks," are B. 
> albonotatus, B. lineatus, B. platypterus, B. Brachyurus, B. swainsoni, B 
> albicaudatus, B. regalis, B. lagopus, and of course B. jamaicensis, 
> which displays much regional variation). ...

This makes sense if the US usage is "hawk" and the UK usage is "buzzard" 
-- why would a lexicographer invent a US term for a UK bird, or vice 
versa? Or do American birders "misname" the local birds when they cross 
the pond?

> There also appears to be a contradiction between the Flint et al guide 
> which terms Butastur indicus "iastrebnyi sarych," and the list you cite, 
> which terms B. indicus "kaniuk iastrebnyi."  But of course they are both 
> B. indicus to the taxonomists.

(Keeping in mind, of course, that the inversion is mine) I wonder 
whether your Flint is the same as my second author. All I have is his 
initials, V. Ye., and there's no "about the authors" section.

> Bird names - even the the Latin taxonomic terms - are remarkably 
> variable over time and space.  When I started birding in Vermont fifty 
> years ago, there was something called the Myrtle Warbler.  Then it 
> bacame Audubon's warbler.  Now (in California), the same species is 
> called Yellow-Rumped Warbler.  Local birders call it Yellow Butt.

Mm-hm, and different namers often choose different features of the same 
species. For example, B. leucorrhous is given as белопоясничный канюк, 
following the Latin, and the German and French forms do as well, but the 
English is given as either "white-rumped" or "rufous-thighed" hawk.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------