Subject: Re: birds seen Saturday, Nov. 1, near Seattle, WA
Date: Nov 1 23:47:45 1997
From: Michael Price - mprice at mindlink.bc.ca


Hi Tweets

Gene Hunn writes:

>2 Oldsquaws flying south (I like that name; though politically
>incorrect, it is actually onomatopoetic,

Sorry, Gene, but I'm afraid you may be liking the name for the wrong reason.
Actually, it is more accurate to say it is *not* onomatopoetic since the
males don't issue any calls that sound like its AOU-sanctioned name. One
Inuit name for this duck that was *strictly* onomatopoeic was 'Ank-ang-alik'
which had no meaning other than referring to this species by invoking the
male's song.

Michael Price We aren't flying...we're falling with style!
Vancouver BC Canada -Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story
mprice at mindlink.net