Sadly true about those flycatchers. It's also interesting that the current ornithological taxonomic use of the word oscine excludes many of the very birds (i.e. owls) the word originally was meant to describe. Sorry, cuckoos...

Rachel Lawson
rwlawson at q.com

________________________________
From: Robert O'Brien <baro at pdx.edu>
Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2021 9:39 AM
To: Rachel Lawson <rwlawson5593 at outlook.com>
Cc: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Interesting etymology of the word oscine

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
In modern times we could infer ocines to be birds which are best identified by voice/call.
Take, Buff-collared Nightjar, as one. Or Alder vs. Willow Flycatchers.
But not to include Pacific vs. Cordillera Flycatcher, which cannot be identified at all.
Bob OBrien Portland

On Thu, Aug 19, 2021 at 12:40 AM Rachel Lawson <rwlawson5593 at outlook.com<mailto:rwlawson5593 at outlook.com>> wrote:
The Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Day for August 10 was oscines, n. From Roman History. Birds from whose song or call (rather than flight) auguries were taken, as ravens, owls, etc.

Rachel Lawson
rwlawson at q.com<mailto:rwlawson at q.com>
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