Many members of
Birding-Aus also read Wingspan, and would have seen my article in the
latest issue proposing that birders adopt abbreviated common name for birds.
Most Australians are disconnected from nature, and I strongly suspect that
ponderous common names are part of the problem. ?Black-faced cuckoo-shrike? is
an example of a long, dull and ultimately meaningless name for a wonderful bird
that everyone sees but most people don?t know, partly because its name is so
complicated and technical-sounding. Every Australian does know kookaburras, emus
and magpies, and they also could know the black-faced cuckoo-shrike if only it
had a one-word name rather a tongue-twisting turnoff. Attempts to change common
names always create controversy, so I am not proposing any formal change. What I
am suggesting instead is that names of common birds be abbreviated in everyday
use. ?Blackface? is ideal shorthand for this bird (it goes well with
?silvereye?), and this name could be used in everyday conversation, for example
when talking to neighbours and children and people in the local park. Birding
immediately sounds more exciting and accessible if we are heard talking about
rainbows, emeralds and yellowfaces. Birders already talk like this among
themselves, mentioning red-rumps and gang gangs, for example. I am suggesting
that the full names still be used in books and reports, but that abbreviated
names be used in less formal situations. What do birders think of this
suggestion?
Tim Low
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