Proper writing of bird common namesHi Trileigh,

I don't know that the world agrees with me, but when I refer to a specific species I capitalize: Great Blue Heron. A more generic reference to the same bird might turn up as: heron. Example: "The Great Blue Heron is the official bird of Seattle; it's a large bird, so Seattleites often see this heron standing in bays as it waits for prey."

I think so many people didn't know whether to write "widgeon" or "wigeon" that people started opting for the simpler spelling, and I think the A.O.U. uses it now, too. But if you want to use "widgeon" you have my permission (for what it's worth).

Other common problems are "kestral" instead of "kestrel," and "Stellar's Jay" instead of "Steller's Jay." And then there are always typing / keyboarding glitches, but most of us don't take them too seriously, anyway.

Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.websterATcomcast.net


----- Original Message -----
From: Tucker, Trileigh
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 8:17 AM
Subject: [Tweeters] Proper writing of bird common names


Hi Tweeters,
I know we've got a lot of grammarians and spelling experts here - thanks in advance for your advice. When writing about a species, I have been assuming that it's not proper to capitalize the name in the course of a statement: for instance, "The great blue heron landed on top of my spruce" would be correct. Is this right? Or should it be written, "The Great Blue Heron landed..."?
And while we're at it, is "widgeon" *ever* the correct spelling? I don't think so, but I see it so frequently that I've begun to wonder!

Trileigh Tucker
Lincoln Park, West Seattle