Book Reviews: Dictionary of Birds of the United States
and
Whose Bird? Common Bird Names and the People They Commemorate
Review by David Lukas
davidlukas AT earthlink.net
March, 2004
Dictionary of Birds of the United States
Joel Ellis Holloway
ISBN 0-88192-600-0
Timber Press
Whose Bird? Common Bird Names and the People They Commemorate
Bo Beolens and Michael Watkins
ISBN 0-300-10359-X
Yale University Press
It’s hard not to review these two books together since they are superbly complementary, and for anyone with an unquenchable thirst for understanding both common and scientific bird names these two books are indispensable. Admittedly, there is an odd fascination to learning about the lore behind bird names and the quirky stories of how they got these names.
Of the two titles, the Dictionary is a straightforward text that plows familiar terrain. The task of exploring the origins of the scientific names of birds has been attempted several times before, most notably and recently in Ernest Choate’s 1985 American Bird Names. The Dictionary claims innovation in covering all the recent scientific and common names as of 2003 (although the cutoff date is not mentioned), thus correcting outdated aspects of Choate’s book. In addition, the Dictionary encompasses all the resident birds of the 50 states, including escaped, exotic, and rare birds. One welcome addition is the coverage of Hawaiian species.
Perhaps the author was not interested in other aspects of bird names, but this reviewer found several features lacking. It would have been nice to at least mention the old names that are no longer in use, simply because anyone using a bird book older than a couple years will run across these names and wonder about their origins. Holloway also leaves out mention of vernacular names. And most notably (especially in light of the other book reviewed here) he omits reference to the persons who originally named each bird, thus creating a sense that bird names have no historical attachment.
Since all of the missing aspects are covered in Choate, however, it becomes necessary to own both books to have a full picture of the origins of American bird names. Glancing at the two books side-by-side reveals the many ways that each fails to give a full sense of a name’s origin. It’s necessary to read between the lines and, in some cases, derive your own interpretation of where the name came from.
On the other hand, Whose Bird? is a delightfully original book full of wonderful anecdotes and a rich sense of the history that all birders share. Much like an encyclopedia, this book covers the 1,400 individuals who have birds named after them in the English vernacular. And who knew that so many birds were named after such fanatics, heroes, romantics, and other oddballs?
This book covers it all—who knew who, who was involved in various boondoggles and schemes, who was paying tribute to who, who was writing, who was traveling, and so much more. In addition, this book has fun by pulling together quirky, though relevant sidebars. For instance, there is one that summarizes which nationalities are most or least often commemorated in names, and there’s another sidebar that discusses the phenomena of naming birds after queens and other royalty.
Whose Bird? is full of surprises. Who knew, for example, that Magnolia Warbler is named after Pierre Magnol? It makes for such fun reading that you’ll eagerly try to come up with questions that need to be looked up.
David Lukas
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