Hi all,
Thanks Haans for expanding this friendly exchange to names that are just
interesting or unusual, rather than weird. Here are a few that I like:
In Venezuela, Chestnut-collared Sparrow is called "corre por suelo," which
means "ground-runnner," or "runs on the ground."
In the area of the Colombian Pacific that I've been visiting, House Wrens
are ubiquitous and they are called "cucarachero," which in context means
"cockroach eater" (the same name is used in Ecuador).
In the Colombian Pacific, Yellow-rumped Cacique is called "mochilero," or
"knapsack maker," because of their oropendula-like nests.
In the same area, Neo-tropical Cormorant is called "pato de agua," or "water
duck."
One of my favorites: in Nicaragua, Turquoise-browed Motmot (the national
bird) is called "guardabarranco"--Guard or guardian of gulches or ravines. A
onderful brother-sister singing/songwriting duo took the name...
Finally, back to the weird, this time for official common names. A
Venezuelan ornithologist once suggested to us the possibility that some
common names are the results of practical jokes that locals were playing on
visiting ornithologists. The great example is the group of birds called
"tapaculos." Although some people say that the name comes from an
onomatopoeic version of the song of one species, it's unavoidable that what
the word "tapaculo" means is "asshole coverer" or "it covers its asshole."
Hmm..
Best wishes,
Steve
On 7/17/13 1:44 PM, "Haans Petruschke" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Traditionally Herons, especially Green and the Night Herons are Shite-poke
> for their habit of pooping when startled.
>
>
> Butterball- Bufflehead
> Bald Pate- Wigeon
> Bluebill- Duddy Ruck
> Sawbill - Merganser
> Gooseander - Merganser
>
> Helldiver- Grebe
>
> John Crow - Turkey Vulture
>
> Chicken Hawk - Copper's Hawk
>
> Redbird- Cardinal
>
> More contemporary
>
> Dolphin - Warbling Vireo
>
> My favorites from Portugal:
>
> o pássaro que você pode manter, se você pegar , or que voce manter, voce
> pegar The bird you can keep if you catch him - Pied Wagtail
>
> a guarda do rio, the guard of the river - Kingfisher
>
> Haans
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 17, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Charles Crawford <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> When I was growing up in southern Illinois the locals called it
>> Shyke-poke. I finally realized they were talking about at that time
>> Green-backed Herons, now just Green Herons.
>>
>>
>> Speckle-bellies or Specks: Greater White-fronted Geese as named by hunters
>>
>>
>> Charlie
>> Henderson KY
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________________
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jul 17, 2013, at 11:00 AM, Laura Dornan wrote:
>>
>>> This morning Tim & I went to watch our local Osprey nest and while we
>> had the scope lined up on the nest on the top of the cell tower, a neighbor
>> lady came out to see what we were looking at. She asked if we were looking
>> at a "shy-poke". We told her we were looking at Ospreys and then asked
>> what the heck is a shy-poke? We had never heard that name. She replied it
>> is a crane, by which we figured she actually meant a Great Blue Heron. A
>> lot of people around here call herons cranes. When we asked where she had
>> learned that name, she said from her husband who was in the military and
>> traveled around a lot. So goodness knows where the name might be
>> colloquial to. Has anyone ever heard that name in reference to herons (or
>> any other bird).
>>>
>>> Thinking about where the name shy-poke came from got me to thinking
>> about all the other weird names some birds have. The 1st that come to mind
>> are the myriad names for the Woodcock: timberdoodle, bog sucker, mud bat,
>> blind snipe, night partridge, & my favorite, Labrador twister. Then there
>> are lots of ducks that have colloquial nick-names, though I can only think
>> of 2 right now: baldpate for Am. Wigeon and butterball for Ruddy Duck.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know some other weird and funny names for birds? I think I
>> will start a "collection".
>>>
>>> Laura Dornan
>>> Louisville, Stark Co.
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________________________________
>>>
>>> Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
>>> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
>>> Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at
>> www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
>>>
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>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________________
>>
>> Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
>> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
>> Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at
>> www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
> Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at
> www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
>
> You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
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--------------------------------------------
Steve Cagan, photographer
[log in to unmask]
www.stevecagan.com
www.elchocomining.net
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www.stevecagan.blogspot.com
http://socialdocumentary.net/photographer/stevecagan
216-932-2753 (USA)
______________________________________________________________________
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Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
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