The Eponym Dictionary of Birds

by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson

Overview

A comprehensive dictionary listing all the people whose names are commemorated in the English and scientific names of birds.

Birdwatchers often come across bird names that include a person's name, either in the vernacular (English) name or latinised in the scientific nomenclature. Such names are properly called eponyms, and few people will not have been curious as to who some of these people were (or are).

Names such as Darwin, Wallace, Audubon, Gould and (Gilbert) White are well known to most people. Keener birders will have yearned to see Pallas's Warbler, Hume's Owl, Swainson's Thrush, Steller's Eider or Brünnich's Guillemot. But few people today will have even heard of Albertina's Myna, Barraband's Parrot, Guerin's Helmetcrest or Savigny's Eagle Owl. This extraordinary new work lists more than 4,000 eponymous names covering 10,000 genera, species and subspecies of birds.

Every taxon with an eponymous vernacular or scientific name (whether in current usage or not) is listed, followed by a concise biography of the person concerned. These entries vary in length from a few lines to several paragraphs, depending on the availability of information or the importance of the individual's legacy. The text is punctuated with intriguing or little-known facts, unearthed in the course of the authors' extensive research.

Ornithologists will find this an invaluable reference, especially to sort out birds named after people with identical surnames or in situations where only a person's forenames are used. But all birders will find much of interest in this fascinating dictionary, an ebook to dip into time and time again whenever their curiosity is aroused.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472905741
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/28/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	512
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Bo Beolens is perhaps best known as his online personae, the 'Grumpy Old Birder' and the 'Fatbirder'. After a successful career in community work and managing various charities, he retired to his home county of Kent where he spends all his free time birding or pursuing his lifelong interest in the natural world. He is co-author of three other eponym dictionaries, and has recently published a book of memoirs.

Michael Watkins worked in London for 45 years as a shipbroker. No longer active in the business, he is still associated with it as a tutor for the industry's professional body, the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. Since retiring, he has had more time for birding and travelling, though never quite enough.

Michael Grayson spent most of his working life at the British Library in London. His chief interests are vertebrate taxonomy and nomenclature, and the captive husbandry of exotic species. He is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.
Bo Beolens is perhaps best known as his online personae, the 'Grumpy Old Birder' and the 'Fatbirder'. After a successful career in community work and managing various charities, he retired to his home county of Kent where he spends all his free time birding or pursuing his lifelong interest in the natural world. He is co-author of three eponym dictionaries, and has recently published a book of memoirs.
Michael Watkins worked in London for 45 years as a shipbroker. No longer active in the business, he is still associated with it as a tutor for the industry's professional body, the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. Since retiring, he has had more time for birding and travelling, though never quite enough.
Michael Grayson spent most of his working life at the British Library in London. His chief interests are vertebrate taxonomy and nomenclature, and the captive husbandry of exotic species. He is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.

Table of Contents

Sources and Acknowledgements

Introduction
In the beginning
Who is it for?
How to use this book
Describers and namers
Birds named after people's titles
Birds named after more than one person
Why are birds given the names they are?
Unidentified persons
Gender allocations and deliberate misspellings in scientific names
Weighing the evidence
The problem of John Gould and Richard Bowdler Sharpe

The Dictionary

Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

You can use the book simply as a reference, but take it from us: It's difficult to put down.” —Birdwatching Magazine

“Students, amateur birders, and professionals will be delighted.” —CHOICE magazine

"It's the stories behind the people that are fascinating." —Sharon Wootton, Everett Herald

"And that is the value of this book, it provides the novice bird watcher, advanced birdwatcher, and ornithologists, an opportunity to learn how some of our favorite birds received their name." —The Horned Lark

From the Publisher

Students, amateur birders, and professionals will be delighted.

CHOICE magazine

You can use the book simply as a reference, but take it from us: It's difficult to put down.

Birdwatching Magazine

03/01/2015
Why does the surname "Winterbottom" appear in several scientific bird names? Beolens—author of three previous eponym dictionaries on amphibians, mammals, and reptiles, and overseer of fatbirder.com and grumpyoldbird.com—and collaborators answer that and other questions in this guide to 4,000 people whose names are commemorated in the scientific and common names of 10,000 genera, species, and subspecies of birds. Brief entries squeeze in charming anecdotes, including praise for zoologist Jack Winterbottom (1903–84), whom colleagues noted "would [within 10 minutes] have a list of 30 species at least ten of which the rest of us had overlooked." VERDICT Nomenclature nuggets for bird nerds.—Judy Quinn, formerly with Library Journal

Library Journal