Mark
I agree with your comments below. Being one of those people very
privileged to travel a lot and bird at most of these locations,
keeping track of what I have seen and where is a nightmare. Many of my
lifers have in fact turned out to be synonyms when I start consulting
the various books and taxonomic sources - Australia is no exception. A
large number of people out there also use Sibley and Monroe!!
Try these options from AviBase for your greater crested tern :-)
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Scientific: Thalasseus bergii
Protonym: Sterna Bergii
English: Great Crested-Tern
AOU 7th ed.: Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
AOU 7th ed. (42nd suppl.): Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
AOU 7th ed. (43rd suppl.): Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
AOU 7th ed. (44th suppl.): Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
AOU 7th ed. (45th suppl.): Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
AOU 7th ed. (46th suppl.): Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
AOU 7th ed. (47th suppl.): Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)
AOU 7th ed. (48th suppl.): Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)
AOU 7th ed. (49th suppl.): Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)
CINFO 1993: Sterne huppée (Sterna bergii)
Clements 4th ed.: Great Crested-Tern (Sterna bergii)
Clements 5th ed.: Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
Clements 5th ed. (updated 2005): Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
Clements 6th ed. (2007): Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)
Clements 6th ed. (2008): Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)
Howard & Moore 2003: Greater Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
Howard & Moore 2003 (corrigenda 7): Greater Crested Tern (Sterna bergii)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (1992-2006): Greater Crested Tern
(Thalasseus bergii)
IOC World Bird List (Version 1): Swift Tern (Sterna bergii)
IOC World Bird List (Version 1.5): Swift Tern (Sterna bergii)
IOC World Bird List (Version 1.6): Swift Tern (Sterna bergii)
IOC World Bird List (Version 1.7): Swift Tern (Thalasseus bergii)
Sibley & Monroe 1993: Great Crested-Tern (Sterna bergii)
Sibley & Monroe 1996: Great Crested-Tern (Sterna bergii)
This does not even include Christidis and Boles, 2008 and just the
English names ...
Crested Tern, Great Crested Tern, Great Crested-Tern, Great-crested
Tern, Greater Crested Tern, Greater Crested-Tern, Large Crested Tern,
Swift Tern
...there are many species far more confusing than this e.g. some of
the herons.
I personally believe we are already a way towards more standardized
international names i.e. compared to 20 years ago. However, there are
certain sub-region who appear to be more attached to their local names
and taxonomy than others e.g. Southern Africa and Australia. Although
this makes the global standardization more challenging, I completely
understand where these folk are coming from.
David
Quoting Mark Clayton <>:
Philip is partially right (and also partially wrong) when referring to
"Bronze-Cuckoo" but it all depends on which taxonomic reference you use. In
Australia most, but not all, people use the recently published Christidis
and Boles, 2008 as their standard reference. However Australia is not the
only place where "Bronze-Cuckoos" occur. There are several world checklists
that are available and used by people to keep their personal bird lists. The
two most recent - and I am aware of others - are Birds of the World:
Recommended English Names by Gill and Wright 2006 (updated version 1.7
October 2008), and The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World (version
6.3.2 December 2008). Gill and Wright is also referred to as the IOC
(International Ornithological Committee) checklist and is an attempt to
standardise the use and spelling of English bird names worldwide. I
personally use this IOC list rather than Clements as I find Clements has
some very funny ideas on Australian taxonomy (I would actually gain more
species if I used Clements). For example according to Clements the Zebra
Finch does not occur in Australia (it is in Timor etc) while we have the
Chestnut-eared Finch!! Interestingly I believe Walter Boles is also on the
IOC Committee but don't know if he has anything to do with the naming group
within the IOC.
There are many other examples within the IOC list where hyphens have been
dropped from the names of birds as we have known them, e.g. Fruit Dove,
Imperial Pigeon. Surely it is better to get a standard set of names world
wide rather than have "local" names for internationally occurring species.
An example of the way that names have been standardised by the IOC list is
that of the Swift Tern, Thalasseus (previously Sterna) bergii. In Australia
it is Crested Tern in C&B, in Clements it is the Greater Crested Tern, but
in most other parts of the world where it occurs, it is the Swift Tern. I
would be interested to see what the bird was called in its original
description. This all just adds to confusion - just check any field guide to
the different regions of the world where the species occurs and see what
happens. Perhaps if we all learnt the scientific names of everything, this
would solve the issue!!!!!!
I know we will never get everyone to agree to some names, or even what
constitutes a species, but surely bit is better to try for some agreement
and standardisation of names. It is also individual preference what
"authority" you choose. When CSIRO published its List of Australian
Vertebrates, I was asked what authority should people use? My reply was to
use whatever you like, all have merit. I look forward to the second volume
of the Directory of Australian Birds: Non Passerines to see how Dick Schodde
et al treat the English (and scientific) names when it finally comes out.
Finally, by capitalising "Little Bronze Cuckoo" (with or without the
hyphen), Philip has referred to a specific species, rather than what I think
he meant to do with his example, and refer to a little bronze cuckoo which
"could mean it is a (small) cuckoo with a little bit of bronze on it". I
know there are people who do not believe that the English names of birds etc
should not be capitalised. That is another story and I am sure people like
Dick Schodde or Geoffrey Dabb are far better placed to say why things are
done this way.
Please note, I am not trying to start an argument with all this, I am just
showing that there are different sides to the whole discussion. I am sure
there are many people out there who don't care two hoots about it all.
Happy listing and A Happy New Year to all
Mark
_____
From: Philip Veerman
Sent: Thursday, 25 December 2008 11:55 AM
To: canberrabirds chatline; Julian Robinson
Subject: [canberrabirds] How do young cuckoos get together?
"How do young cuckoos get together" raises two issues. Are you asking about
whilst young and still dependent on their foster parents? My answer to that
is - if they do so at all (regularly), I'd suggest just random by seeing
potential suppliers of food passing by and latching onto them to get an
extra feed. Or maybe they recognise the calls of other baby cuckoos and are
attracted to them.
If you are referring to when they are no longer babies but ready to breed.
The answer is obvious: through an instinctive recognition. The reason is
also obvious and that is to breed. To know what instinct feels like you
would need to be the bird. But I reckon I would be attracted to a suitable
female human without (or in this case in spite of) being raised with a
sister.
Lastly and sorry but it has come up again, one other point and Julian is far
from the only one to get this wrong. (Sean Dooley has admitted to me that to
his great embarrassment, he got it wrong in his big twitch book.) It is
Horsfield's, NOT Horsefields. Named in honour of Mr Horsfield (no e in the
middle and being possessive of just one Mr Horsfield, it needs the
apostrophe). Also for what it is worth, a hyphen in there too, to indicate
that "Bronze-Cuckoo" is a group name (otherwise for example "Little Bronze
Cuckoo" could mean it is a cuckoo with a little bit of bronze on it).
Philip
|
