birding-aus

names

To: "" <>
Subject: names
From: Dick Turner <>
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2017 00:14:57 +0000
Birdos

My hobby is bird-watching.

This month I have seen a Little Falcon

Dick turner


On 25/01/2017 9:23 AM, Tony Russell wrote:
> I took an American lady out birding one day, (paid me handsomely and bought
> me brekky),. When I showed her a Willy Wagtail she went into fits and
> insisted on calling them Willy Wonkas for the rest of the day. Suppose it
> worked for her.  Don't suppose Rhipidura leucophrys would have given her
> such a laugh, but it might have, her being American .
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus  On Behalf Of
> Philip Veerman
> Sent: 25 January 2017 08:00
> To: 'birding-aus'
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] names
>
> The 2013 book "Australian Bird Names" by Ian Fraser and Jeannie Gray gives a
> lot of details about most of these issues and the history of most names.
> Highly recommended to inform more useful discussions about this. As someone
> has already done the hard work to provide the information, best to make use
> of it.
>
> As for the Willy Wagtail, Willy has always been a mystery to me (I wonder
> who else) and I thought John's addition on that interesting but I don't
> understand it. That book (above) does not have any mention or any thing for
> or against what John wrote. And isn't that idea John gives, complicated by
> that Pied Wagtail, given to mean the same, is already occupied as a form of
> the White Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii).
>
> As for the group names, it occurs to me that the real wagtails don't even
> wag their tails (laterally - like a dog wags its tail - even the Wiggles
> know that). They bob their tails (vertically). For those outside Australia
> reading this, our Willy Wagtail very conspicuously wags its fanned tail.
>
> A slight twist, in the Philippines they have a bird very similar in form and
> habits to our Grey Fantail (same genus) but similar in size to and coloured
> more like a Willy Wagtail. It is Pied Fantail (which would otherwise be a
> better name for Willy Wagtail) but it is also known there as Maria Capra.
> Rather strange name but so is our Jacky Winter.
>
> Philip
>
> -----Original Message-----From: Birding-Aus
>  On Behalf Of Denise Goodfellow
> Sent: Tuesday, 24 January, 2017 5:24 PM       To: Peter Madvig        Cc:
> birding-aus   Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] names
>
> Too close to Freddo Frog
>
> Denise
>
> On 24 Jan 2017, at 2:13 pm, Peter Madvig <> wrote:
>
>> Freddy Fantail....??!! Ah well :-)
>> Cheers
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----> From: Birding-Aus
>  On Behalf Of John Leonard
>> Sent: Tuesday, 24 January 2017 7:28 AM> To:
>> >
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] names
>> The problem with "Willy Fantail" is that Willie Wagtail is is an
> inseparable unit, being an Irish and Scots name for the Pied Wagtail along
> the lines of Margaret Pie = Magpie, ie a personal name followed by the bird
> name.
>> If they want to rename it they have to recognise that the Willie part
> isn't an adjective, and they need to find an adjective to go with Fantail
> that distinguishes it from all the other Fantails, White-browed Fantail (for
> example, from the scientific name).
>> John Leonard
>
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