If names were the trivial part then we'd all be able to
ignore this thread and get on with other things....

The following represents a reasonably complete list of colloquial names
for
Oldsquaw or Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) from Kortright, F.H. 1943
Ducks, Geese and Swans of North America. American Wildlife Institute,
Washington, D.C.

You'll notice that even the latin refers to the noisy nature of this
species, a
tradition that (I think) properly should be maintained. You'll also
notice that
the insensitivity of naming is not confined to Native Americans or mature,
assertive women.

Alewife
Caccawee (or cockawee, kakawi)
Callithumpian Duck (my personal choice)
Coween
Granny
Hahaway
Hell's Chicken (another one I'd vote for)
Hound
Jack-owly
Jay-eye-see
Klahowyah
Knockmolly
Long-tailed Duck
Mammy duck
Mommy
O-i (ol-wye)
Old billy
Old granny
Old-injun
Old mammy
Old-wife
Oldsquaw
Organ Duck
Pintail
Quandy
Scoldenore
Scolder
Singing duck
Siwish
Son-son-solly Duck
Sonsonsolly Duck
South-southerly
Southerland
Squaw
Swallow-tailed Duck
Teet
Uncle Dick
Winter Duck


Karin Sable wrote:
>
> Hi all.
>
> In my opinion, this is pretty darn trivial and distracting from what birding
> should be about... amazing physical features, variation in those features,
> natural history, behavior, distribution, migration, variation in migration,
> changes in distribution ranges, displaying, breeding, nest construction,
> epiphany, and wonderment (to name a few).
>
> Gary Snyder the nature writer and pulitzer prize winning poet warns us not to
> get caught up in the names lest we be distracted from more important things.
> Another great essay on the matter is by Ursela LeGuin called "She Un-names
> Them."
>
> I'm going out to watch the birds.
>
> Karin Sable
> Gig Harbor, WA
> Scott Atkinson wrote:
>

--
Mike Patterson Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo,
Astoria, OR it is not enough to be persecuted
celata at pacifier.com by an unkind establishment,
you must also be right.
---Robert Park
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html