Subject: Re: Juvenile Zonotrichia vs Juvenal Plumage
Date: Oct 9 21:56:36 1997
From: Michael Price - mprice at mindlink.bc.ca


Hi Tweets

Jon Anderson writes:

>>On the subject of "juvenile" plumage, I was taught - according to Olin
Sewell Pettingill's 'Ornithology' and Joel Carl Welty's 'The Life of Birds'
- that "juvenile" referred to the age/lack-of-breeding-ability of the bird
and that the plumage was properly defined as "juvenal". Any number of my
biology profs beat this distinction into my consciousness back in the 70s.
>

With respect to Messrs. Webster, Pettingill, Welty and the many profs, the
Concise Oxford sensibly defines 'juvenile' as both adjective *and* noun;
surprisingly there is no entry for 'juvenal'. This suggests that it is a
neologism or jargon term not accepted as, well, hm, 'accepted' english. For
the non-specialist not subject to the diktat of scientific protocols, I'd
suggest that preferred adjectival usage is optional.

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