After birding for getting on for two years I can usually work out what
people mean if they aren't too vague. I wouldn't have known what a
Murray Magpie was. I'd almost class that as slang, rather than a common
name, because its usage is likely to be very localised (am I wrong?).
I don't mind if people use any of the names out of the last couple of
editions of the field guides and C&B - you really have to know those -
but beyond that it can get hard to decipher.
Abbreviations ought to be explained occasionally. Everyone will come
across "OBP" eventually, so they need to know it, but other less common
abbreviations need explaining every time they're used. Does anyone have
a list of other abbreviations they think don't need explaining?
Peter Shute
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of Greg
> & Val Clancy
> Sent: Monday, 21 July 2008 4:08 PM
> To: Evan Beaver; Graham Turner
> Cc: Baus
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Many Double-bars in breeding plumage
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> I think that there is a rich history in alternative common
> names and I am
> not suggesting that everyone should use the accepted common
> names at all
> times but when corresponding with people who may become
> confused or posting
> information on an internationally read site (such as
> Birding-aus) consistent
> common names would be very helpful. People publishing papers
> on birds have
> to adopt the 'official' common names to avoid confusion.
>
> I would be keen to hear the opinions of people who have only
> been birding
> for a short time. I have been birding long enough to know
> that 'Murray
> Magpie' is an alternative name for the Magpie-lark but I am
> sure that many
> others have not.
>
> Greg Clancy
>
>
|
