James and Michael, for what it's worth, I think quite a few of those names (read: many, or even most in James' List, less so in Michael's ditto) and their origin, are shared with the Swedish language/list, and if so they are (or will be) incl. in my Swedish MS "
Fåglarnas svenska namn" [Swedish Bird names], sub-titled; from
abacorall to
östersjötrut.
This far my MS is covering all the Birds/names from
abacorall [for the sub-fossil species
Rallus cyanocavi: Abaco Island +
rall (rail)]; to
östersjötrut [for the (nominate) ssp. of the Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus fuscus;
Östersjön (the Baltic Sea) +
trut (Gull)], as well as all the other names (and/or their parts), either single ones as well as shared ones, of all the Birds in all the World (used in contemporary Swedish texts, though only since 1942, also incl. today obsolete names).
Just to give you an idea, today I have the following:
A (240 entries)
From
abaco-, as in the
abacorall (above), ... to
azur-, as in (for example)
azurmes, for the Azure Tit (
Parus)
Cyanistes cyanus.
B (309 entries)
From
babax, as in the Swedish names of four different (
Babax)
Pterorhinus species ... to
-|
böj- (bent/curved) as in
dvärgböjnäbb (for your Dwarf Longbill)
Oedistoma iliolophus (as well as in other names/birds).
C (197 entries)
From
caatinga- (the South American habitat), as in, for example;
caatinganattskärra (for the Plain-tailed Nighthawk)
Nyctiprogne vielliardi ... to
cypern- (
Cypern/Cyprus), as in
cypernstenskvätta, Cyprus Wheatear
Oenanthe cypriaca, etc., etc.
... and onwards, obviously also including the above-mentioned parts/names;
mes (Tit),
dvärg- (Dwarf),
näbb (beak/bill),
natt (Night),
skärra (similar to creak|er, alt. buzz|er, or whirl|er),
sten (stone/rock), and
skvätta (close to; squirt/er, or beckon/er), and all the other Bird epithets/words (or parts of ditto/s).
As of right now I have about 480 names left to explain (or just to check and verify, alt. update, amend or even re-write) ... after that, I'm done.
If you ever get stuck on any such (multi-lingual/shared) name, or names, don't hesitate to ask, either here "in the open" or (if more secretive) in either
Conversations or by e-mail. I might have the answer in my MS, or in its notes, who knows?
Stay safe!
Björn
PS. James, as you clearly aim to cover a far, far wider time frame; "... the vernacular English names of the birds of the world given in world-treatments, regional field-guides, check-lists, hand-books and the general literature since about 1750 (purely an arbitrary date)", may I suggest the (Linnaean) year 1758, as a (natural) starting point (I'm pretty sure such a choice would facilitate quite a few plausibly tricky Identity issues).
And if so, I assume you will have to incl. the Pewit Gull (clearly the name used by H. L. Meyer in the mid 1800's (recently dealt with
here, alt., in the direct link/text/book itself,
here).
/B