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Carregando... Mrs Moreau's Warbler: How Birds Got Their Namesde Stephen Moss
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Registre-se no LibraryThing tpara descobrir se gostará deste livro. Ainda não há conversas na Discussão sobre este livro. For Anglophile bird nerds only! A quite charming, rambling trawl through ornithological history by a dedicated twitcher (a birder who travels widely and expensively to spot birds, especially in places they're not supposed to be) and nature journalist. While he does tell some traveling tales of his own, a large part is devoted to linguistic and etymologic development of what we have chosen to call the birds around us, as far back as some thousands of years, and across the continents. In case you're wondering, one of the very earliest words for a particular bird is "ghans" or "ghas"... for goose, and Moss tracks the name across languages and cultures. He scatters gems like the scientific name for the hoopoe (pronounced hoo-poo, much to the pleasure of small boys): Upupa epops - can't you hear Ella Fitzgerald scat-singing that? Overall, a delightful read - I just wish he'd come across the pond and do something similar for North American bird lingo: thunderpumper, anyone? ( ) sem resenhas | adicionar uma resenha
"We use names so often, and with such little thought, that we often forget to pause and wonder about their origins. What do they mean? Where did they come from? And who originally created them? Since the dawn of mankind we have been driven by a primordial urge to name the birds and beasts of the earth and skies. It is through names that we make sense of the world around us, and through understanding these names, we can arrive at a greater awareness of our world. Many of our most familiar birds are named after people or places, sometimes after their sound or appearance, or perhaps after their quirky little habits. But sometimes a little more detective work is required to find the deeper meanings and stories behind the names. And a familiar face such as the blackbird, may not turn out to be named after its color after all.Through unexpected encounters with the bird kingdom, from the familiar sparrow to the many-colored rush-tyrant of Patagonia, Stephen Moss shows us that something as small as a name can carry a whole story - an arctic expedition, a pitched battle between rival ornithologists or the discovery of a new system of genetic hybridization. Mrs Moreau's Warbler is a journey through time, from when humans and birds first shared the world, up to the present day, as we find ourselves struggling to coexist sustainably with our feathered friends" --Publisher description. Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
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Google Books — Carregando... GênerosClassificação decimal de Dewey (CDD)598.014Natural sciences and mathematics Zoology BirdsClassificação da Biblioteca do Congresso dos E.U.A. (LCC)AvaliaçãoMédia:
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