Syd Curtis asks why we shouldn?t use common Australian names for birds
instead of international English ones, for example Jabiru and Crested Hawk
for Black-necked Stork and Pacific Bazas.
I?m all for local names but these two examples are very badly chosen. Jabiru
is a Tupi (a Native American people from Brazil) word for the South American
stork, Jabiru mycteria. Why this is supposed to be a vernacular Australian
name escapes me; it?s just a mistake.
Similarly with Crested Hawk, it isn?t a Hawk (either an Accipiter or a
Buteo). Baza is word from one of the languages of India, I think, and is a
very useful term for the five spp of Aviceda, an distinctive sub-family of
raptors, found from Africa to Australia.
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John Leonard (Dr)
http://users.bigpond.com/john.leonard
PO Box 243, Woden, ACT 2606, Australia
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