Re: Meanings of scientific names

[(Ronald Orenstein)]

Check out "A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names" by James A. Jobling,
Oxford U Press, 1991.  It claims to give the derivation and meaning of all
scientific bird names.  For example, it notes that Climacteris comes from
the Greek klimakter or klimakteros, the step of a staircase or the rung of a
ladder.

I cannot vouch for the book's  accuracy and completeness (it would be a
pretty daunting task to do so!), but it does exist.  I would check The Ibis
for a review.
--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886 (home)
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116 (home)
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