When I write about white-tailed deer I do not mean any deer with white on its tail. Similarly, when I write about a spotted salamander, I do not mean any salamander with spots, nor with spicebush swallowtail, nor a fat pocketbook mussel.
Only with birds is this tyranny of capitalization held up as gospel. I think we can all agree that respect for scientific authority is valued by those who study all types of animals, so let's just come out and admit that it's a socially enforced convention among ornithologists to require capitalization. -- Eric Schauber Wildlife Ecologist -- Coop. Wildlife Research Lab Associate Professor of Zoology Center for Ecology Southern Illinois University Carbondale (618) 453-6940 (618) 453-6944 (fax) On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 12:13 PM, David Anderson <[email protected]>wrote: > It is important to separate vernacular names from professionally designated > common names assigned to species. The American Ornithologists' Union is the > authority that names birds in North America, and names of birds are > capitalized: Chipping Sparrow, Lovely Cotinga. These names are associated > with taxonomic binomials consistent with the recognized status of species. > A chipping sparrow is any sparrow seen chipping. A Chipping Sparrow refers > to Spizella passerina. All cotingas are lovely indeed, but only Lovely > Cotinga refers to Cotinga amabilis. Birds have many common names. A "hoot > owl" means nothing in particular. A "rain crow" is a Common Nighthawk. > When popular magazines, e.g., National Geographic, Audubon, incorrectly > refer to chipping sparrows and lovely cotingas they are ignoring the > scientific authority and tradition that separates vernacular from science, > and in so doing they blur the boundary between common and scientific > observations and knowledge. > > > > David L. Anderson > Ph.D. Candidate > Museum of Natural Science > Louisiana State University > 225-578-5393 > [email protected] > http://www.museum.lsu.edu/Anderson/index.htm > -- Eric Schauber Wildlife Ecologist -- Coop. Wildlife Research Lab Associate Professor of Zoology Center for Ecology Southern Illinois University Carbondale (618) 453-6940 (618) 453-6944 (fax)
