I have a delapidated old bird book titled: "Birds of America" that I got for a birthday present when I was 11 years old (1948). In each species section, there is a spot for "other names." In those days they understood that the common name varied around the country. And I grew up knowing that when somebody referred to a "buzzard", for example, they probably meant Turkey Vulture, and "crane" usually meant long-legged herons, etc.

Here in Bellingham, I once talked to someone who said there was a "nighthawk" in his dad's garage. Maybe it was a Barn Owl?

Phil Hotlen
Bellingham, WA
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Jim McCoy <jfmccoy at hotmail.com>
>
> Like Martin, and I suspect many others on this list, I've gently attempted to
> convince people that they were seeing Great Blue Herons and not cranes. Part of
> the problem is that "crane" is a time-honored vernacular term for Great Blue
> Herons, and many an amateur naturalist has learned that term at the foot of
> another, sometimes quite knowledgeable, senior amateur naturalist. Such people
> are never easily dissuaded. The point to remember is that they're not really
> wrong; it's just that they're working with fuzzy terminology. So I always just
> explain the difference to them, and let them know that they're right, but put
> them wise to the "correct" term in current usage among birders and
> ornithologists.
>
> Jim McCoy
> Marblehead, MA
> jfmccoy at hotmail.com


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From: Jim McCoy <jfmccoy at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Tweeters] Re: Of identification and preconceived notions
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