If you’re like me – and my condolences to you if you actually are – you probably enjoy a well-researched list of taxonomic names. And when it comes to taxonomic naming, bird species are one of the most popular subjects to examine in order to discover the history behind the name and as a result increase one’s overall knowledge about the history of natural history in general and the history of ornithology in particular.
Thus, for all those who have been asking themselves “when are we going to see the publication of a new examination of ornithological names?” I bring good tidings. Princeton University Press has just this past October published Susan Myers‘ The Bird Name Book; A History of English Bird Names.
Ms. Myers, a senior leader with WINGS, is also the author of the Wildlife of Southeast Asia and Birds of Borneo: Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan, so one may justly say that her entire life revolves around helping interested people discover and learn more about the natural world, particularly its birds.
Beginning with a very helpful and informative catalog of the most prolific naturalists responsible for the many of the English names used in identifying birds, and followed by a rigorous catalog of ornithological eponyms, onomatopoeiae, and other identifiers of the world’s bird life stretching from accentor to Zeledonia – often illuminated with helpful illustrations and photographs – this book is treasure trove of interesting and useful information. Consequently, you should place great confidence in this being a book that will be very much to of interest to bird watchers, birders, ornithologists, as well as to those who have a particular interest in the history of the study of birds and natural history.
