What’s In A Name?

Joe Meche is president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and also serves the chapter as newsletter editor and birding programs coordinator. He has been watching birds for more than 50 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 30 years.

The number of bird species worldwide is over 10,000, with approximately 950 of those found in the U.S. and Canada.

When we’re out watching birds, we like to hone our field identification skills and keep track of what we’re seeing. We know the birds by their common names and often reel them off with no conscious thought of how the birds might have been named and who named them. Humans need to know what things are, so we give them names—we’re curious that way!

When humans made their way into the 18th century and scientists were discovering staggering numbers of new species of plants and animals in new parts of the world, it became obvious that a systematic approach was required to sort through the maze. In 1753, a Swedish naturalist by the name of Carolus Linnaeus introduced his system of binomial nomenclature—two-part names—in an attempt to add some semblance of order and hopefully minimize the potential for confusion.

Since Latin was the language used by scientists at the time, Linnaeus followed tradition and bestowed two-part Latin names on all organisms. Before the publication of Linnaeus’ book, “Systema Naturae,” ornithologists used long, descriptive, Latin phrases to describe birds. When Linnaeus gave birds their scientific names, using the two-part system, the process was simplified and much more practical than before, especially when taking notes in the field and writing papers after the fact.

His two-part system of names was set up with the genus capitalized and listed first, followed by the species in lower case, and always written in publications in italics. This arrangement worked well to separate birds that were found to share common names such as the European and American robins. Birds might have all sorts of common or regional names, but they have only one scientific name. Everyday bird watchers utilize common names but scientists continue to use Latin names when referring to birds in their writings.

As bird species were recorded and classified worldwide, the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) took on the task in this country. The AOU was founded in 1883 and maintains a working list of bird names and continues to update and publish the Checklist of North American Birds. The checklist, now in its 7th edition, with supplements, is available to download at www.aou.org. The checklist is often referred to as a work-in-progress since as many as 50 supplements have been added to the original.

Supplements to the checklists are requisite when the occasion arises to split or lump similar but separate species. A perfect case in point was the splitting of the rufous-sided towhee into the current eastern towhee and our local spotted towhee. If you compare the two birds, you can see the similarities, but you can also see the differences; hence, the split. When you’re in the field and see similar species side by side, be aware of the subtle differences. Local species that you might see together for comparison are the greater and lesser yellowlegs, and on many occasions during the winter, you could observe all three scoter species foraging together.

For all intents and purposes, the scientific names for birds are completely understood and utilized primarily by professional ornithologists. The rest of us are perfectly happy—even though some are still challenged at times—to make heads or tails of the common names. To delve into bird names and their origins is an etymological journey that will only increase your appreciation of birds. To know them better is to love them more.

Many birds acquired their names naturally, as the names are often suggestive of their calls. The chickadee is telling us what he is, as are the killdeer, the pewee, the northern bobwhite, and the kiskadee. Many of the endemic Hawaiian birds’ names come from the sounds natives heard and passed on to ornithologists as they began to catalog the birds of those Pacific islands.

Other groups of birds are quite easy to differentiate—blackbirds are black and woodpeckers do what their name implies.

The behavior and methods displayed by some birds when gathering food led to names like skimmer, sapsucker, turnstone, and oystercatcher. Then there are the creepers, flycatchers, and thrashers. The unique anatomical features of some birds made it relatively easy to name them and at the same time impart that particular feature to others. There’s no doubting this theory when you observe spoonbills, crossbills, grosbeaks, or stilts.

When you see a Wilson’s or a Townsend’s warbler, a Swainson’s hawk or thrush, or a Bonaparte’s gull, trace the origin of the name and you’ll find an essential who’s who guide to naturalists, ornithologists and explorers. Our locally omnipresent Steller’s jay was named after the naturalist George Steller, who traveled with Vitus Bering on his voyages along the coast of Alaska. A sea lion and an eider also bear his name. Trace the origin of Lewis’ woodpecker and Clark’s nutcracker sometime.

The names of some birds originated from the places where the species was first encountered and seen to be different from other birds. Louisiana has a waterthrush, while Connecticut, Tennessee, and Kentucky have their warblers. The Carolinas have their name attached to a wren and a chickadee. To add a slight bit of confusion and even fun to the name game, however, the call of the California quail sounds quite like … Chicago!

Ducks are ducks and a goose is still a goose. But spend a little time with each duck and goose species and trace the origin of their names. Do the same with large groups of birds like owls and hawks, and then spend inordinate amounts of time with sparrows and warblers. Just by tracing the evolution of their names, you’ll learn to appreciate the process that’s involved. You’ll also learn to appreciate the birds more.

And just when you think you’ve identified a blue grouse, someone will tell you that’s its name has been changed to dusky grouse, or was it changed to a sooty last Tuesday? It’s an ongoing process so keep checking the AOU checklist. For entertaining reading on the beach or on the lake on those long, sunny days that will be here soon, pick up a copy of Ernest A. Choate’s “The Dictionary of American Bird Names.” This tidy little volume covers both common and scientific names of all the North American species. As Roger Tory Peterson said, “No informed birder should be without it.”

Learning the names of the birds is just a small part of the bird watching experience. If you pursue birds with an enthusiasm that borders on passion, you’ll find a never-ending source of entertainment in the field and at home. Every day provides an opportunity to expand our knowledge of the world around us. §