[TN-Bird] Re: Scientific names
- From: FINCH64@xxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 18:35:41 EDT
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stating that what was once believed as gospel truth is no longer valid for this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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