FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Re: Scientific names

[FINCH64@xxxxxxx]

I have seen these posts on this subject and thought I would add my 2 cents. I 
am a consummate list-maker and I have tons of paper filled up with 
classifications of birds of the world. This is my idea of fun. It might not 
appeal to 
others but then my choice of music (Radiohead, Coldplay, Queens of the Stone 
Age, etc) might not appeal to them either. I don't consider it elitist to like 
this sort of thing. To me, it's fun to look at birds of the world and try to 
figure out how they are all classified and connected to each other. I like 
puzzles and it seems like a kind of puzzle to try to figure these things out.

There are various systems of classification and from what I have read - no 
one system is considered foolproof. Some say Sibley & Monroe have the last 
word. 
Others prefer to stick to one of the various traditional lists. Every once in 
a while somebody publishes a paper in Auk or other ornithological journals 
stating that what was once believed as gospel truth is no longer valid for this 
reason and that. And they fall to squabbling amongst themselves and eventually 
one emerges as the victor? lol

However, most of them agree that the New and Old World counterparts are (for 
the most part) not directly related. Flycatchers here are not close cousins to 
Old World flycatchers, ditto for warblers, orioles, blackbirds, vultures, 
etc. The original names of these birds were meant for the Old World varieties. 
It 
was the original colonists of our  continent - our ancestors - who, in my 
opinion, are responsible for the current confusion. Rather than follow the 
examples of other transplanted colonials (Australia, New Zealand, Latin 
America, 
etc) and adopt the names used by people who already lived there or make up 
brand 
new ones, our ancestors chose to use the same old names they were accustomed 
to in the Old World. Most of them weren't ornithologists or even naturalists. 
They saw something that reminded them of birds in the old country and labeled 
them as "robin", "blackbird", "sparrow", etc. And those are the names we still 
use today. What a shame they weren't more innovative or respectful of people 
already here and adopted names already in use for these wonderful creatures.

Perhaps some enterprising person might consider pursuing this project? A 
Cherokee field guide to the birds of the Smokies? A Chippewa field guide to the 
birds of the North Woods? A Navajo field guide to the birds of the Southwest, 
etc.? I think it might be interesting to see what someone could come up with in 
this regard. Depictions of these animals as the original people viewed them. 
The wonderful stories they told about them, etc. I also think they would be 
popular among birders and other naturalists.

Now I am not suggesting the wholesale slaughter of names already in use and 
ones that everyone knows. But I think it is good to keep everything in proper 
prospective and to realize why things are the way they are. The scientific 
names are just as important as the American and/or European names or the names 
used by the original inhabitants. One look at Sibley and Monroe's Distribution 
and Classification of Birds of the World will prove just how important the 
scientific names are. At various times several species of birds have all shared 
the 
exact same names depending on who named them. It would be extremely difficult 
to keep them all straight if there were no scientific names at all in the 
book! lol

Happy armchair birding! ;-)

Barry Jernigan
Murfreesboro, TN
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