birding-aus

trying correct common names

To: "Birding Aus" <>
Subject: trying correct common names
From: "JAP" <>
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 16:14:03 +0930
Hi Philip,
 
"Red Tails in Love" is an absolutely fascinating book - for me, anyway!  Perhaps a birdo imported it?
 
And it is an ongoing saga - try Googling.
 
I do like your story of the different biases - the American bias surely so much better in not adopting names of superficially similar species so thus they haven't lumbered people with so many misleading common names based on immediate perceptions of size and colour ; )  Another one is the way those who stayed behind (and perhaps even us in Oz) criticize those in the US for using 'z' in spellings - but, if you look back, that was the original spelling!  As for 'aluminum', look at the history of that name ...  Driving on the wrong side of the road is, of course, something else ...
 
Judy (Oz born and bred of many generations) 
-----Original Message-----
From: [On Behalf Of Philip Veerman
Sent: Tuesday, 16 August 2005 3:31 PM
To: Cas and LISA Liber (& family); Birding Aus
Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] trying correct common names

Cas,
 
That is a good question. They should do so. I had correspondence with an American birdo about six months ago, on this very subject. This person explained to me that the difference is that whilst the early settlers to Australia tried to give the new animals even if they were not remotely related, names as close as possible to those back home in England, in contrast, the early settlers to America tried to give the new animals names as far as possible from those back home in England. So we have two opposite sets of biases, that both produce some odd problems. It is hardly surprising when you look at American spelling, as in the can't spell "cheque", can't say "aluminium" put dates back to front, etc. Therefore Americans call Buteo Buzzards "hawks" (which is sort of correct in that buzzards are a sub set of hawks) but they call vultures "buzzards" which is really weird, even though the new world vultures are quite likely not at all close to old world vultures and maybe should not be in the order Falconiformes at all.
 
Is 'Red-Tails In Love' a good book? I have often seen that book in book shops and wonder why do we get that book in Australia. Seems very obscure to me.
 
 Philip 
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