Wildlife July 2011

[mark smyth]

Does anyone in the UK have a book that explain bird names - common and scientific?

[TC]

What exactly is it you are looking for?.  Is it translations from English such as Wheatear from Anglo Saxon "hwit ears" which translates as white rump - actually a bit ruder than this !!, or the translation from Latin.  Again there are many variants for bird names depending on your locality.  Most of our bird names come up to us from the original languages spoken in the UK and Ireland and are possible corruptions from even older tongues.

I remember a book on this subject some years back.  I think it was birds Britannica.

I have often wondered if the Swift was named after its speed or whether speed was named after the bird - most probably the former.

[mark smyth]

Tom, the swifts latin name Apus literally means no legs or no feet. The English must be from their speed. Most European languages call them wind gliders or something similar.

I've been asked to put a talk together on garden birds and I thought it would be good to include literal translation of their latin names. I've added some extra birds that may be found in a large garden.

I'm missing translations for
Bullfinch
Redpoll
Goldfinch
Collared dove
Stock dove
Robin
Long-tailed tit
Pied wagtail
Blackcap
Willow warbler
Sedge warbler
Brambling
Siskin
Fieldfare
Redwing

I should buy a book.

Some have great translations
Dunnock - singing little brown job
Chiffchaff - money changer leaf warbler
Song thrush - darkness loving nightingale thrush

[annew]

Have you tried Google translate or Babelfish?

[mark smyth]

I have Anne and thanks for the package that arrived yesterday

[mark smyth]

two swifts have a 'chat' with each other. I think they are a male and female. One has a higher pitched scream. The peeping sound is what two swifts do when preening each other
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJp83tzgeOM[/youtube]

[Anthony Darby]

This site is a start, but you've probably found it? http://sbpoley.home.xs4all.nl/scinames.htm. Just doing a little digging and you can find the rest in Wiki e.g. collared dove translates as Streptopelia = collared dove and the song is a coo-COO-coo, repeated many times. It is phonetically similar to the Greek decaocto ("eighteen"), to which the bird owes its specific name.

[annew]

We resumed playing the swift recording since we had very little action going on in our swift boxes. Today there was a group of 8 birds circling the house and approaching the box, sometimes landing on the guttering nearby. One went into the middle box (naturally not the one with the camera) and wasn't seen to emerge over the next 4 hours that we were videoing it. Fingers crossed.

[mark smyth]

It's a good sign Anne. Listen for a churring sound that swift chicks make

Who says swifts are black? All bird books do.

They are actually brown with brassy gold highlights. The camera doesnt pick up the highlights

[Anthony Darby]

I have several bird books from yesteryear. One, that is very interesting, is "A Bird Book for the Pocket" by Edmund Sanders. First printed 1927. Mine (used to belong to my uncle Tommy) is sixth impression 1945. The index is fascinating: Aberdevine= Siskin; Accentor = Hedge Sparrow; Avocet.....omitted; Beam Bird = Spotted Flycatcher; Bevy = family (of Quail) etc etc.

[Lesley Cox]

I saw a swallow today, when I was on the way home from work. The first for the season. He/She seems to think spring will be early. But this morning was the coldest frost of the year by far, -6C when I left for work at 5.30am and -8, 2 hours later! The ice on my car didn't thaw until 11am. I drove through thick frost like a polar bear's coat, about 6cms thick and fluffy. I've never seen it like that before. I was the first on our hill road to take a car and was extra careful and slow, making me 5 mins late for work, the first time in more than 8 years.

[Anthony Darby]

That must have been welcome Lesley? They've never left us. I saw a group on the Greenmount Reserve (football pitches ) last week, and they are usually flying about when I take Heidi on her walks.

[FrazerHenderson]

garden snail

[Anthony Darby]

My blue tongued skink just loves those!

[Lesley Cox]

It was indeed Anthony, very welcome. I suspect the swallows in NZ don't go to Africa or wherever, but just take an Air NZ flight as far as Auckland. He may be regretting coming south so soon though, as the pics on the southern hemisphere will show. (In a few mins.)