Saturday, October 15, 2022

Book Review - The Bird Name Book - Princeton University Press


      It has always seemed to me that anyone interested in birds has a parallel interest in etymology, in the same way that baseball aficionados are obsessed with statistics about their game. It was with great pleasure, therefore, that I received this book for review, and I experienced a distinct sense of anticipation before even opening it to the first page.
     Having now read it from cover to cover, I owe a debt of gratitude to Susan Myers for producing this work, which I find nothing less than enchanting. 
     The Author's Note, brief though it may be, captures the spirit of our time succinctly, "But lately, bird names have been receiving more scrutiny than ever. It seems rather belatedly it's come to our attention that many of the names we take for granted have a checkered background." 
     Justice carries no expiry date and it is never too late to redress the sins, omissions and deceptions of the past. Gabriel Foley and Jordan Rutters wrote of eponyms, ".... (they) cast long, dark shadows over our beloved birds and represent colonialism, racism and inequality. It is long overdue that we acknowledge the problem of such names, and it is long overdue that we should change them.” Thick-billed Longspur reveals far more about the bird than McCown's Longspur anyway, and for those dedicated to perpetuating McCown's name it is still retained as the specific epithet.
     The naming of birds was left to early naturalists and amateur enthusiasts, many of whom lived before ornithology was recognized as a science, and Myers provides a comprehensive list of these luminaries. I was especially happy to see her reference to Alexander Skutch, that scion of Central American ornithology and a behavioural ecologist of immense talent, as "....one of the world's greatest ornithologists," a sentiment I share.
     One cannot have even a passing acquaintance of ornithology without knowing of John Gould, a contemporary of Charles Darwin; his influence continues to this day.


     The photographs in the book are superb, but they are surpassed by the high quality reproductions of bird art through the ages, from the flat and lifeless to the animated portraits produced by Gould, Audubon and others. 
     Gould's work is represented more than other artists and for good reason. His output was unmatched and he had the good sense to employ talented artists like Edward Lear, possibly the finest bird illustrator of all time.


     The number of images tracing the development of ornithological art is comprehensive and they add such an excellent dimension to the book it is hard to overstate their worth.




     The meaning of bird names is listed alphabetically from Accentor to Zeldonia, with excellent accompanying notes. From cover to cover it is packed with information. In short order you can learn the origins of the names of birds you always wondered about.
     This is an exceptionally fine book and one that I imagine every bird lover will will wish to have.

The Bird Name Book: A History of English Bird Names
Susan Myers
Hardcover - US$39.95 - ISBN 9780691235691
416 pages - 6.125 x 9.25 inches (15.31 x 23.125 cm)
200 colour photos
Publication date: 25 October, 2022

David M. Gascoigne,
David M. Gascoigne,

I'm a life long birder. My interests are birds, nature, reading, books, outdoors, travel, food and wine.

39 comments:

  1. ...I once came upton a show on Public Radio about words. They talked about the origins of words, it was quite interesting.

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  2. Information I didn't know about John Gould. Great post!

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    1. See "The Bird Man - The Extraordinary Story of John Gould" by Isabella Tree for a great book on Gould.

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  3. I would probably be more interested in those magnificent illustrations than the "naming" part. They certainly culled from the best of the bird art, didn't they? It would be worth it just for those gorgeous color plates!

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  4. Yet another books to get lost in, and to delight in. Time and time again.

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  5. The colour plates in the book are well done and beautiful.

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  6. This must be the perfect book for you, David. I'm guessing you bought at least two of it!
    Beautiful drawings.
    Hugs and kisses, Marit

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  7. Zawsze z zainteresowaniem oglądam stare obrazki z ptakami. Teraz możemy malować lub rysować ze zdjęć. Dawniej, kiedy było to niemożliwe, artysta musiał być niezwykłym obserwatorem.

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  8. The book sounds interesting but I think it would take me ages to read as I would be too busy drooling over all that beautiful artwork :)

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  9. What a wonderful idea for a book! Thank you for showing it to us.

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  10. Hari OM
    Christmas is coming... YAM xx

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  11. Looks a good book to have in ones library.

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  12. What great illustrations there are in this book.
    I think I would read this too.
    Greetings Irma

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  13. This looks wonderful, and if you say it is good, it must be. Hugs, Valerie

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  14. I would LOVE having this in our library!! What a great addition it would be to my growing collection of books. Wow,David, I appreciate this review. I'm gonna buy it.
    Hey, thanks for taking time from your day to add your link ...happy birding

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  15. 1. That would have been fun if your wife and I had been to the Dutch market together... lovely... you would have lined up for the coffee, I promise it's delicious :-)) well worth it... the over 100 fabric stands too :-))
    2. Thank you for introducing the book... I love the illustrations and would of course buy this book for that reason alone - no question about it - I always want to know exactly what I see or hear :-) and I'm so glad that there are experts who are happy to share their knowledge.
    Happy Sunday to you.
    We have happy autumn weather...
    3. Hug

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  16. Thank you for this review, David. It is a book that I will now put on my 'wanted' list.

    The matter of name changes, such as that of the McCown's Longspur (I had to look up who McCown was) is a difficult one. I tend to stand on the side of those that wish that such things, including monuments, are left in situ (perhaps with additional information), as constant reminders of the evils that have been perpetrated in the past.

    Best wishes to you and Miriam - - - Richard

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    1. On this we will respectfully disagree, Richard! I always think that we should listen to the views of the groups upon whom injustice and indignity was inflicted. I am never surprised that when a revolution occurs one of the first actions is to tear down monuments to oppressive régimes - think only of the toppling of statues of Sadam Hussein, and removal of his portraits. I would venture to say that if the Iranian people are successful in their present struggle to overthrow the ayatollahs any images of them will be obliterated. We are just doing now what is long overdue.

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  17. This book looks like another fantastic one. I have a little book with a few of John Gould's birds in it, but I really didn't know who he was. (The book was a gift from a friend eons ago). I didn't really know much about him and now I see where I can learn more. Thanks for another great book review. Hope there's been some good birds in your weekend too. hugs-Erika

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  18. What a wonderfully conceived book. Given my love of etymology, it's one I clearly would enjoy. My only regret is that, to my knowledge, no one has produced a similar work for the flowers! That's one I'd buy in a minute. Since I can't buy every interesting book in the world, I'll see if I can't get this one through inter-library loan.

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    1. A similar book on flowers would be wonderful, Linda.

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  19. Sounds like an interesting book though I'd like it for its illustrations rather than how a bird got its name. I'm sure that's interesting come to think of it. Like logger headed shrike.

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  20. Your many talents have brought you the blessing of being able to review the best of the best books on just about everything nature. I love the idea of thumbing through the artwork in this book and you have peaked my interest in the history of naming which would probably never have occurred to me to question had you not brought it up. I will go searching for a place to buy this book and add it to the growing library of your recommendations :) You add such depth to my life, how can I say Thank you enough ...

    Andrea @ From the Sol

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    1. Andrea, you are far too kind to me. Thank you so much.

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  21. Un libro con una reseña impecable y por lo visto con unas ilustraciones que se salen de normal dada su alta calidad y gran prestigio de su autor.
    Gracias por su presentación amigo David. Como siempre, una gran lección estimado profesor.
    Recibe un afectuoso abrazo y te deseo una excelente semana entrante.

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  22. Hello,
    Another great review, I would enjoy this book. The topic is about one of my favorite subjects, the birds. Thanks for sharing. Take care, have a great day and happy new week!

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  23. The books artwork looks beautiful.

    All the best Jan

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  24. Sí, me encantaría tenerlo, se ve muy lindo. Gracias y besos.

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  25. Beautiful artwork!...I never thought about the link between birds and etymology....I love etymology, but in my case is linked to history which is a topic that I like very much....Abrazotes, Marcela

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  26. I like the beautiful artwork in the book. I am sure you did a great review on the book.

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  27. Sin duda alguna, me parecen preciosas sus ilustraciones y denota calidad. Muchas gracias por mencionarlo.

    Abrazos,
    Noa

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  28. Those pictures and paintings are works of art. What a gorgeous book David. And she has done a great service for humanity.
    XO
    WWW

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  29. Hi David - thank you for this ... it would totally entrance me to have a copy to read, look at, admire ... we mostly forget that Lear was a brilliant artist ... we often read his limericks as children. I did go to a small exhibition at the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge (thought I'd better put in the full title) to see some of Audubon's early works, Gould and Lear were on show too ... incredible art work. The short talk was about a very few of the publications they hold in their archives. I'd love to live in London to visit more often. I'd also love to read this book - cheers Hilary

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  30. That sounds very interesting. I am interested in the origins of words and sometimes look them up. A government agency here is changing place names here that are offensive to our Native Americans. Of course, it is worth remembering that what is considered offensive today was not considered offensive 50 years ago, and that whether something is a slur may vary according to who says it.

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  31. The illustrations are magnificent. I looked up the book on Amazon to see some of the inside pages of the book. 69 birds have "eagle" in their name - I had no idea!

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