Yet another thread on eponyms... But this one might actually be fun! (1 Viewer)

[Maffong]

December 6th

Today leads us into difficult terrain. Storm Petrels are notoriously difficult to identify. As far as I know moult timing is the best (and only?) way to differentiate Monteiro's from Band-rumped Petrel.
Nevertheless, I think I found some cool options. Some new mononyms (names considting of only one word) may be too much for those who like name stability, but if a new name is coined anyway, why not go all the way...

Wilson’s Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus)
Alexander Wilson (1766 –1813), Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and illustrator.

Alternative names: Yellow-webbed Storm Petrel, Bright-footed Storm Petrel, Cosmopolitan Storm Petrel, Antarctic Storm Petrel, Wavehopper, Ocean-wanderer

Although the first option may be the most helpful one, I would prefer a mononym for this pelagic delight from Antarctica, which is supposed to be one of the most abundant birds of the world.

Leach’s Storm Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous)
William Elford Leach FRS (1791 –1836), English zoologist and marine biologist.

Alternative names: Northern Storm Petrel, Boreal Storm Petrel, White-rumped Storm Petrel, Smudgy-rumped Storm Petrel, Waverunner, Waveglider, Stormswallow / Storm Swallow

The first two options, although fitting, are kind of boring and the third might not always be obvious in the field, another mononym would be cool. With its bifurcated tail it reminds of a Swallow, although Storm Swallow is (or used to be) the name of European Storm Petrel in other languages like German.

Monteiro’s Storm Petrel (Hydrobates monteiroi)
Dr Luís Manuel Ribeiro da Rocha Monteiro (1962-1999), Portuguese ecotoxicologist, ornithologist.

Alternative names: Azores Storm Petrel, Azorean Storm Petrel, Graciosa Storm Petrel, Hot season Storm Petrel

Difficult to name without referring to its distribution around the Azores, as there are almost no field marks to go by. Is there an adjective for ‘summer-breeding’?

 

[andrew147]

Wilson’s Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus)
Leach’s Storm Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous)
Monteiro’s Storm Petrel (Hydrobates monteiroi)

Storm-petrels are in competition with turacos for the most egregious over-use of honorifics.

I have Yellow-webbed, Boreal & Azores - as these names have already been in use - but I love Wavehopper.

 

[cajanuma]

December 6th

Today leads us into difficult terrain. Storm Petrels are notoriously difficult to identify. As far as I know moult timing is the best (and only?) way to differentiate Monteiro's from Band-rumped Petrel.
Nevertheless, I think I found some cool options. Some new mononyms (names considting of only one word) may be too much for those who like name stability, but if a new name is coined anyway, why not go all the way...

Wilson’s Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus)
Alexander Wilson (1766 –1813), Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and illustrator.

Alternative names: Yellow-webbed Storm Petrel, Bright-footed Storm Petrel, Cosmopolitan Storm Petrel, Antarctic Storm Petrel, Wavehopper, Ocean-wanderer

Wavehopper is kind of nice, though perhaps more fitting for White-faced Storm Petrel. I think it is mostly Wilson's Storm Petrel that was once called Mother Carey's Chicken by sailors. Apparently Mother Carey is a supernatural being, so would this be an eponym or not?

 

[Maffong]

December 7th

Another batch of difficult to name birds because obvious identification features are scarce. Nevertheless, I think there are some good options in there.

Zino’s Petrel (Pterodroma madeira)
Paul Alexander Zino (1916 –2004), British businessman and ornithologist.

Alternative names: Madeira Petrel, Delicate Petrel, Slender-billed Petrel, Tilting Petrel

Based on the breeding grounds, Madeira Petrel is the obvious choice as this is the only known breeding place, but the other suggestions could help to remember some identification criteria. From what I know Zino might be the most deserving of all people here to have this bird after him, as his research was crucial for the survival of this species.

Fea’s Petrel (Pterodroma feae)
Leonardo Fea (1852-1903), Italian explorer, naturalist.

Alternative names: Cape Verde Petrel, Gon-gon Petrel, Chunky Petrel, Heavy-billed Petrel

As long as the Desertas birds remain lumped with this species, I’d prefer another name than Cape Verde Petrel. Apparently, Gon-gon is how the locals call it already. The others could help to differentiate it from what is currently Zino’s Petrel but are likely somewhat confusing compared to other Petrels.

Bulwer’s Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii)
Revd. James Bulwer (1794-1879), Scottish naturalist on Madeira 1825-1826.

Alternative names: Brown Petrel, Sooty Petrel, Dark Petrel, Bat Petrel, Columbine Petrel, Wedge-tailed Petrel, Long-tailed Petrel

Apparently, Bulwer was more interested in conchology and archaeology and didn’t contribute much to ornithology besides collecting the type specimen. This mostly dark-brown Petrel is quite distinct looking although prominent identification features are few. Neither range nor ecology seem to be helpful to find a name, so I’ll have to stick to the colouration.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Happy with Slender-billed, Heavy-billed and Wedge-tailed, but absolutely happy for Zino to continue to be recognised!

 

[andrew147]

Zino’s Petrel (Pterodroma madeira)

Fea’s Petrel (Pterodroma feae)

Bulwer’s Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii)

I have Madeira / Cape Verde (with Desertas as a separate species) / Sharp-tailed for these.

Bulweria bulwerii is likely a species complex so especially deserves a new qualifier to avoid things like 'Macaronesian Bulwer's Petrel' in the future.

 

[awiner]

Happy with Slender-billed, Heavy-billed and Wedge-tailed, but absolutely happy for Zino to continue to be recognised!

Yeah, I'm an extreme "no eponyms" person, but even I'd make an exception for Zino's Petrel - you can draw a clear line from that person to that bird still being on the planet.

"Freira Petrel" would be another possible name.

 

[Mysticete]

It's pretty likely we will end up losing Wilson's Storm Petrel anyway, given that it's a complex containing multiple cryptic taxa (I've already split them in my list)

IIRC, the form most likely in the Northern Hemisphere is the Subantarctic Storm Petrel.

 

[Maffong]

December 8th:
Yet another day with lookalike tubenoses. Finding new names would have been easier if they hadn't been split...

Scopoli’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea)
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723 –1788), Italian physician and naturalist.

Alternative names: Mediterranean (Yellow-billed) Shearwater, Diomedean Shearwater (haha), White-fingered Shearwater, Tongue-fingered Shearwater, Sepia Shearwater

I always get this, and Cory’s Shearwater confused and always need to check which one is which, I blame this on the names being eponyms. Mediterranean Shearwater seems a good choice here but is probably best left for Balearic and Yelkouan Shearwater once they’re relumped. The epithet refers to Diomedes, who is a hero in Greek mythology, which could probably count as another eponym, but I don’t really the name anyway. The only name I kind of like would be Sepia Shearwater. Yellow-billed Shearwater might be an option, if another name were chosen for C. borealis.

Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis)
Charles Barney Cory (1857 –1921), American ornithologist, golfer, outdoorsman, and author.

Alternative names: Yellow-billed Shearwater, Atlantic Yellow-billed Shearwater, Canary Shearwater, Boreal Shearwater, Dark-fingered Shearwater

I like the first name the most, but would also be open to Canary Shearwater, even though the species also breeds elsewhere. The other options aren’t great in my opinion.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Somewhat reluctantly going to go for White-fingered and Dark-fingered as a pointer towards a plumage difference.

 

[Maffong]

Has this already been submitted to NACC/SACC? It seems to me that most people have already accepted the findings of Norambuena et al, when I would bet money that aforementioned institutions will currently refuse to accept a split and ask for more information (nuclear DNA, testing more populations).

Are there any more gene sequences from breeding grounds available on GenBank, so someone more knowledgable could construct a quick tree with BLAST?

 

[Maffong]

Yeah, I'm an extreme "no eponyms" person, but even I'd make an exception for Zino's Petrel - you can draw a clear line from that person to that bird still being on the planet.

"Freira Petrel" would be another possible name.

I like Freira Petrel!
Is there any literature about Zino's works on the internet? I woulf love to read a little more about him

 

[Maffong]

Wavehopper is kind of nice, though perhaps more fitting for White-faced Storm Petrel. I think it is mostly Wilson's Storm Petrel that was once called Mother Carey's Chicken by sailors. Apparently Mother Carey is a supernatural being, so would this be an eponym or not?

I have fewer problems with Mother Carey ghan with e.g. Wilson's, although I guess it would count as an eponym by most definitions. I'm okay with names such Alexandrine Parakeet, Orphean Warbler or Stygian Owl, as these names are based on (somewhat obscure) general education. Mother Carey would require a bit of research at first, but might stick with me afterwards, but not really thrilled about calling it chicken...

 

[wheatearlp]

If you refer to a “ringed plover”, do you mean the species Ringed Plover, or an unidentified plover with a ring which might be a Little Ringed Plover?

If it is written "ringed plover", then it would, to me, be a generic "ringed plover". Capitalising it would mean it was a Ringed Plover.
The spoken word is more ambiguous but, generally in my experience, saying "ringed plover" (or ringie) means Ringed Plover and "little ringed" (or LRP) means Little Ringed Plover.
Other than total mis-ID, I've not experienced any spoken confusion over these two.

 

[Mysticete]

Has this already been submitted to NACC/SACC? It seems to me that most people have already accepted the findings of Norambuena et al, when I would bet money that aforementioned institutions will currently refuse to accept a split and ask for more information (nuclear DNA, testing more populations).

Are there any more gene sequences from breeding grounds available on GenBank, so someone more knowledgable could construct a quick tree with BLAST?

I am not aware of that happening yet (SACC would probably deal with it first). That said, passing muster with NACC is not the same thing as being valid. NACC is cautious and perhaps too cautious many times. I would think there biggest concern would be the lack of sampling from the Northern hemisphere, which might make them feel uneasy to split something if there is uncertainty whether only one species ranges this far north or if there is a chance that multiple taxa do

 

[cajanuma]

December 8th:
Yet another day with lookalike tubenoses. Finding new names would have been easier if they hadn't been split...

Scopoli’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea)
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723 –1788), Italian physician and naturalist.

Alternative names: Mediterranean (Yellow-billed) Shearwater, Diomedean Shearwater (haha), White-fingered Shearwater, Tongue-fingered Shearwater, Sepia Shearwater

I always get this, and Cory’s Shearwater confused and always need to check which one is which, I blame this on the names being eponyms. Mediterranean Shearwater seems a good choice here but is probably best left for Balearic and Yelkouan Shearwater once they’re relumped. The epithet refers to Diomedes, who is a hero in Greek mythology, which could probably count as another eponym, but I don’t really the name anyway. The only name I kind of like would be Sepia Shearwater. Yellow-billed Shearwater might be an option, if another name were chosen for C. borealis.

The local name on the island of Linosa, Italy, where one of the largest colonies is located, is Turriaca. I believe the name in Maltese, where another major colony is located, is also Turriaca or something very similar. There is another major colony on an island in Tunisia, but I don't know if they have a local name there. So Turriaca Shearwater might be a very nice solution (though its pronounciation could easily be mangled; it's too-REEAH-kah). I know it essentially means "Shearwater Shearwater", but then again so does Yelkouan Shearwater (I think Yelkovan is shearwater in Turkish)

 

[cajanuma]

I am not aware of that happening yet (SACC would probably deal with it first).

A proposal has been submitted to SACC and is generating a lot of discussion, much of it from outside experts on seabirds: Revise the taxonomy of Oceanites species

 

[Mysticete]

A proposal has been submitted to SACC and is generating a lot of discussion, much of it from outside experts on seabirds: Revise the taxonomy of Oceanites species

you know, I read that proposal after it went online and I still seemed to have forgotten it existed!

 

[opisska]

It's a hard choice whether to share my incredibly deep insights here or on FB, but I usually see it in FB first

 

[Maffong]

December 9th
Two more tubeboses with very few obvious identification features that can be worked into new names

Barolo Shearwater (Puffinus baroli)
Carlo Ippolito Ernesto Tancredi Maria Falletti Marchese di Barolo (1782-1838), Italian philanthropist, collector of books and objets d’art.

Alternative names: Salvages Shearwater, Macaronesian Shearwater, Canary Little Shearwater, Minute Shearwater, Friendly Shearwater, Banking Shearwater

Difficult to describe the range, Salvages Island has the biggest breeding population but seems to restrict while Macaronesia is too big as this would include Cape Verde as a descriptor. Therefore, I prefer one of the latter names. The banking behaviour might not be pronounced enough to base the birds name on it.

Boyd’s Shearwater (Puffinus boydi)
Capt. Boyd Alexander (1873-1910), British ornithologist, explorer, collector.

Alternative names: (Cape Verde) Little Shearwater, Small Shearwater, Dark-cheeked Shearwater, Arcing Shearwater

Given that there is already a Cape Verde Shearwater this choice is unfortunately not available. The arking behaviour might not be pronounced enough to base the birds name on it. Not an easy one to rename.