On Sun, 25 Oct 1998, Mary Shane wrote:

> Can someone tell me why certain parts of bird's names are capitalized? I'm
> new to this group and learning!
>
> Mary Shane
> Montesano, WA

Hi Mary,

The common names of birds are about the only common names for citters that
you will see capitalized, i.e, Black-capped Chickadee, Pacific
Golden-Plover, Spotted Towhee, etc. Most other types of plant or animal
name will not be captialized unless it contains a person or place name,
like Steller's sealion.

The capitalzation of the names follows the AOU (American Ornithologist
Union) Checklist for the birds of North America. The common names are
"standardized" by the AOU. This nice in that when someone talks about Barn
Owl we all know which bird they are talking about, with the alternitive
being to call it by its latin name _Tyto alba_. This is what plant people
often have to do when talking about plants, because there are so many
common names for the same plant in many cases. Ornitological journals,
field guides and such will follow, or should follow, the way the AOU
spells bird names.

In e-mail messages, you will often see people write names in all caps
because it makes it easier for your eyes to pick out the name of the bird
that the person is talking about. BARN OWL is easier to see on a screen
full of text than Barn Owl.

I hope that helps,

Russell

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Russell Rogers and Mary Moore
6637 Glenwood Drive SW
Olympia WA 98512
(360) 709-9870
rrogers at halcyon.com
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