When I saw my first Cirl Bunting in 1978 - at West Wycombe in Bucks - the UK population was in serious decline. By 1990 there were just 100 or so pairs remaining, all in South Devon. Conservation efforts turned the tide at this point, but more than a decade later it was still necessary to travel west of the River Exe to guarantee seeing one, and the species' gradual recovery has always seemed painfully slow. Yes, certainly its range was expanding, but it never felt likely that I would encounter Cirl Bunting close to home in Seaton, East Devon any time soon, and even less so here in Bridport, West Dorset. And then, on 1st January 2021, I took this ropey photo at West Bexington...
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Female Cirl Bunting, West Bexington, 1st Jan 2021 |
Unbeknown to me, Mike Morse had seen and photographed the same bird earlier in the day. And our suspicions were correct; it was a female Cirl Bunting. Since then the species has become an increasingly familiar sight locally, with breeding proven last summer. Along with a successful pair on Portland, they were the first Cirl Buntings to breed in Dorset for more than 50 years.
And this week, successful breeding has been proven once again. Great news! Full details will be forthcoming later in the year...
The local Cirls can be amazingly elusive, but in the spring I had a jammy encounter with this male as it quietly fed on tiny grass seeds...
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Male Cirl Bunting |
Those are photographs I would never have predicted taking locally. What a treat to have this species close by.
In other news...
Shortly after embarking on my mothing apprenticeship I had a little vent on here about my struggles to get to grips with scientific names. All moths are blessed with them of course, but most so-called micro-moths are also typically known by them. I realise that many branches of natural history deal almost exclusively in scientific names, and anyone wishing to dip a toe will simply have to get on with it. Still, I would not be surprised to learn that some folk find it all too daunting, and so don't even try. Ironically, with micro-moths someone did attempt to make it all a bit more accessible by giving them vernacular names too. However, despite some limited take-up (for example, Nick Asher's Common Micro-moths of Berkshire includes them) there appeared to be strong aversion to their universal adoption.
Enter Phil Sterling and Mark Parsons, writers of the Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland. In the excellent second edition there is a section in the introduction entitled 'Vernacular names'. There we read...
Vernacular names...appear to be welcomed and despised in equal measure!...For the second edition we decided to review vernacular names, with a view to including a revised list that we hope will be more widely accepted, changing those names that seemed inappropriate...We hope that these vernaculars will encourage new interest in micro-moths among people who are put off by scientific names...
What a refreshing attitude.
True, perseverence has given me a sketchy familiarity with the scientific names of many micros, but it hasn't changed my view that insisting on their use is a bit blinkered, and off-putting for the non-specialist. I must admit though, until recently I found it difficult to rationalise this view in a way that came across as something more reasoned than stubborn resistance.
Enter the grandchildren. Like any good grandparent, I am trying to interest my granddaughters in the natural world. Moths have already played a part, and both girls are fascinated by them...
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Elephant Hawk-moth gets reverential admiration. |
Elephant, hawk and moth are all words which even a four or five-year-old can grasp; Deilephila elpenor, not so much. So yes, I am glad we call it Elephant Hawk-moth. How about this next one?
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Ypsolopha sequella |
This attractive little micro-moth is very distinctive and easy to recognise. However, not for one second would I consider encouraging my granddaughter to call it Ypsolopha sequella - and no, sweetheart, that begins with a 'Y', not an 'I' - because the vernacular fits like a glove...
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Pied Rabbit Moth |
The vernacular even gives you the opportunity to teach the meaning of a new word perhaps - pied.
Personally I am now comfortable using either name, but have never bothered to investigate the etymological roots of 'ypsolopha' and 'sequella'. So, to me they are just meaningless words that when combined become the scientific name of a striking micro-moth. And I could say something similar about almost all the scientific names in my mothy lexicon.
Yes, I hope the vernaculars gain traction. They deserve to.
That brings back memories of West Wycombe mausoleum visits. Good that there’s some good news stories in these days of gloom. I occasionally birded with someone in the 70’s who used Scientific names in the field which was a bit OTT . That Pied Rabbit moth is a looker!
ReplyDeleteI do recall the occasional bird scientific name quiz on long car journeys back in the day, but none of my birding friends ever used them as standard. No one knew them well enough. I still don't!
DeleteYes, but how many 4 and 5 year olds CAN'T say Diplodocus or Tyrannosaurus or Pterodactyl? Well, nowadays maybe quite a few, but you know what I mean. I would argue that young children pick up scientific names a darn site quicker and easier than most adults do. Anyway, once you start looking at the scientific names and breaking them down into their components, some do slowly start to make sense. It's a descriptive language, that's all. It's not black magic, rocket science or nonsense. You soon start to look at the scientific names with an understanding, rather than in confusion. It really is a language and one worth persevering with. However, vernaculars are definitely easier to remember if only because they are in the language we read and speak daily. Pied Rabbit Moth is a ridiculous pile of cr*p name though, in my (ever so humble) opinion. It's just dumbing down at its patronising worst.
ReplyDeleteFair points on all counts, and probably your view endorses the best approach for long-term involvement and serious study. Many of us - me included I think - operate on a more superficial level, so I simply believe that the so-called dumbed-down version should be available, that's all. And it's a shame the vernaculars attract so much ridicule.
DeleteGav, noting the pattern of scientific names attributed to species, which includes names or part names of the original finder. I would say that the discoverer of the Pied Rabbit Moth was called Ypsolopha Sequella.
ReplyDeleteMust admit, pretty cool name for a person. 😄
DeleteLearning the vernacular effectively means learning two names per animal if you want to converse with them that do and them that don't. I struggle with forum names and real names, and not all moths are kind enough to have a little bunny on their back.
ReplyDeleteAdded to that, both scientific names and vernaculars have the annoying habit of changing from time to time. 😕
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