canberrabirds

snipe naming 2

To: "'Bill & Raelene Graham'" <>, <>
Subject: snipe naming 2
From: "Philip Veerman" <>
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2012 22:45:11 +1000
Well of course the name thick knee (surely among the least appealing bird group names) is because of they have thick ankles). Also one of them is called Dikkop in Africa, literal Africaans (Dutch) for "thick head". An earlier name for our whistlers is thick head. Trying to get perfect names is just an exercise in pointlessness.
 
Philip.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill & Raelene Graham [
Sent: Wednesday, 3 October 2012 9:47 PM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] snipe naming 2

Martin, Paul, Malcolm & Philip,

Thankyou for your ideas. Some English names for flora and fauna have a charm and special place in our imagination: foxglove, larkspur, maidenhair, forget-me-not, nightingale, skylark, magpie and barn owl etc. I accept the anomaly that names were given to birds in Australia that had something in common with those the observers were familiar with in the UK. I have no problem with Willy Wagtail and Yellow, Grey & White Wagtails, or the robins or wrens. Give me Bush and Stone Curlew any day over Thick Knees. I think I saw a Painted Snipe many years ago and if I saw it again I’d probably still think of it as a “snipe” so I’ll just settle for things to stay as they are.

Bill

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