RE: [cobirds] Re: Changing Common Names of birds; example, Steller’s Jay

Bob, all,

With apols for heading somewhat off-topic. Moderators please forgive me

 

Concerning Steller's Jay..

 

As you may well be aware there is a wonderful book concerning Bering's second voyage "Where the Sea Breaks its Back" by Corey Ford, pub 1966.  Most of this book's gripping 200 or so pages are actually about Steller and his natural history discoveries, some 280 years ago, including those famously named after him such as the Jay, sea-cow and Sea-Eagle. I have read this tome several times and highly recommend it if you have any interest in either exploration, natural history, or both. The two arctic expeditions of Vitus Bering (a Dane) on behalf of the Russian monarchy during the reign of Peter the Great each started with a 6,000-mile cross-country trek from St. Petersburg to Kamchatka that makes the Lewis & Clark expedition look like a cake walk. And that was just to get to the beginning of the sea voyages. Also in the book I learned that Alaska is probably an abbreviation of Unalaska, derived from the Aleut word agunalaksh, which means "the shores where the sea breaks its back."  Of course everyone knew that from school right? And as for the author's own first sighting of the Aleutians, I can totally relate..

 

Declaration: No financial involvement, but proud to shout for European Naturalists!

 

Dick Filby

Carbondale CO, Norwich UK

 

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Ira Sanders
Sent: 15 April 2021 22:10
To: Robert Righter <rorighter@earthlink.net>
Cc: cobirds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Re: Changing Common Names of birds; example, Steller's Jay

 

Bob

Maybe it will turn out that Steller  was a Confederate general and they will change the name to Mountain Jay

Ira Sanders 

 

On Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 12:30 PM Robert Righter <rorighter@earthlink.net> wrote:

 

Peter the Great,Tsar of all of Russia, invited Georg W. Steller, a German scientist to come to Russia and help explore and catalogue it's natural history. In 1741 Steller joined the Vitus Bering Expedition in sailing east to discover what was out there. After several weeks   they bumped into new land now known as Alaska. Steller discovered a jay, now known as Steller's Jay. The expedition sailed west exploring the Aleutians. Out of many of Steller's new discoveries was a new eagle, now known as Steller's Sea Eagle.

 

Doesn't the eponymic name Steller's Jay evoke more romance, interest, and wonder than if it was just called, for convenience, say "Mountain" Jay?

 

Bob Righter

Denver, CO  

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