FW: Bird name

[Martin Butterfield <>]

An interesting point re the last paragraph is that as far as I am aware what is stored in the Cornell databases is the species names used in the Cornell version of the world.  So when downloading data from the Cornell database does the output not have the "English (Australian)" names attached.  As most people know those names I have in the past used a concordance to convert from Cornell-speak into Australian names (in the process also converting the mis-spellings from the land of Trump such as 'Gray).   

However I think Avilist is a great idea so from now on intend to use their names (apart from correcting the mispellings, but including the latest results from the hyphen wars).

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

https://mallacootaweatherwildlife.blogspot.com/

On Sun, 24 May 2026 at 15:31, Geoffrey Dabb via Birding-Aus <m("birding-aus.org","birding-aus");">> wrote:

Thank you for all your responses on this. Now please, PLEASE, to anyone with no interest in English bird names:  do not read further.

 

Despite good intentions on all sides, we are moving into an untidy situation.  So far as I can see, the AviList taxonomy is being generally adopted, including by BirdLife Australia, for use in the online HANZAB for example.  English names are another matter. AviList has provisionally adopted the IOC English names. An AviList English Names Committee has just been formed, and its first priority is to consider English names for new species in AviList 2026.  After that, AviList ENC might be able to turn to review of adopted IOC names that create possible problems.  It is a possibility, no more than that , that ‘Australian Tern’ might be reviewed at that stage.  Perhaps BirdLife International will give support to ‘Australian Gull-billed Tern’.

 

 

Meanwhile, for the future, so far as I know, BirdLife Australia will maintain its own list of Australian bird names (currently ‘WLAB’).  A result of this would be that Cornell Lab could continue to use that list as  a basis for names under its ‘English (Australia)’ option in eBird.  Those will be matters for BirdLife Australia and Cornell Lab.  So, some possible untidiness ahead.

 

 

 

From: Martin Butterfield <m("gmail.com","martinflab");" target="_blank">>
Sent: Sunday, 24 May 2026 1:12 PM
To: Philip Veerman <m("pcug.org.au","pveerman");" target="_blank">>
Cc: Geoffrey Dabb <m("iinet.net.au","gdabb");" target="_blank">>; m("birding-aus.org","birding-aus");" target="_blank">
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Bird name

 

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR> 
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>