Thanks for the info. Mike Patterson was kind enough to direct me to the
following book (which is still in print - and which I now have on order from
Barnes and Noble):

>Choate, Ernest A. 1985. Dictionary of American Bird Names.
>Harvard Common Press. Harvard and Boston.
>
>Aechmophorus = "spear bearer"
>occidentalis = "western"

Not surprisingly, notice how the example name interpretations vary a bit
-

----- Original Message -----
From: Stephen Jackson <Stephen_Jackson at hotmail.com>
To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>; <patbarb at speakeasy.org>
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2000 12:35
Subject: Re: Taxonomic info?


> Pat, and other interested Tweeters,
>
> The book you need to try and get hold of is 'A Dictionary of Scientific
Bird
> Names' by James A Jobling. It was published in the UK in 1991 by Oxford
> University Press, although according to 'a well known internet bookstore'
> the book is now out of print. The ISBN number for anybody wanting to
search
> for it is 0-19-854634-3
>
> As a taster of the information it contains :
>
> Aechmophorus - Greek aikhme : a spear; lophos : a crest
> occidentalis - Latin occidentalis : western (occidens, the west, evening)
>
> It is a thoroughly recommended book, ideal for dipping in to in order to
> expand your knowledge and understanding.
>
> At the risk of opening a can of worms, anybody who is DESPERATE to know
what
> a scientific name means, or is derived from can e-mail me privately and
I'll
> do my best to get the information back to you. I draw the line at
> interpreting World/Country/State/County lists! ;-)
>
> Stephen Jackson
> Stanwell, Middlesex, UK
> stephen_jackson at hotmail.com
>