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- ”\u00a0animal names are not capitalized (\u201cI spotted a red-tailed hawk,\u201d not \u201cI spotted a Red-Tailed Hawk\u201d), except when an element of the name is a proper noun, as in \u201cSteller\u2019s jay\u201d and \u201cSiberian tiger.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This war between advocates of title case\u00a0(capitalization) and sentence case (non-capitalization) of bird common names is\u00a0nonsense if you ask me, for reasons I’ll explain below. But I also know that few technical writing errors drive editors and others to\u00a0distraction like superfluous capitalization does – to the point that they’ve given the practice its own name,\u00a0“capitalitis”. They’ve even assigned a causative agent to\u00a0the\u00a0condition and given it a\u00a0scientific name, Uppercasis ludicrosii. <\/em>Gotta admit, I like\u00a0their humor\u00a0even if\u00a0I don’t agree with them when it comes to common names of specific<\/em> animal and plant species, birds especially.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/yellow-warbler-6738-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"yellow-warbler-6738-ron-dudley\\"")
I’m generally familiar with the “rules” about the differences between proper capitalization\u00a0of common and proper nouns but\u00a0writing “I spotted a yellow warbler” just doesn’t cut it. Many species of warblers are yellow so what species\u00a0was the bird – a Prothonotary Warbler?\u00a0a\u00a0Wilson’s Warbler?\u00a0a Canada Warbler? Or one of the many other warbler species that are mostly yellow?\u00a0All that original statement\u00a0tells the reader is that\u00a0the warbler was yellow. But writing “I spotted a Yellow Warbler” specifies the exact species. “She saw a white-throated sparrow” doesn’t say squat because there are\u00a0several sparrows with white throats\u00a0but “She saw a White-throated Sparrow” lets readers know the precise\u00a0species with no confusion or equivocation.<\/p>\nAfter\u00a0many years of almost bloody fighting over that distinction most respected birding resources have taken the same path and are now capitalizing common names of birds (though the same thing hasn’t happened, at least not yet,\u00a0with many other\u00a0organisms such as mammals and plants). A few cases in point:<\/p>\n
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- Every one of my bird field guides, including Sibley, National Geographic, Audubon, and the American Museum of Natural History uses title case for bird common names.<\/li>\n
- In 2014 Audubon<\/em> magazine, after what has been described as a “blood bath”\u00a0involving contentious editors, vice-presidents and ornithologists, adopted title case for their publications and websites.<\/li>\n
- As far as I know all other bird oriented publications and organizations use title case for birds\u00a0including Auk<\/em>, The American Ornithological Society and others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
However at about the same time that\u00a0Audubon decreed for\u00a0title case Wikipedia chose the low road and\u00a0went for\u00a0sentence case for birds so that only confuses the matter.<\/p>\n
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But here at Feathered Photography it’s title case\u00a0for birds –\u00a0always has been and always will be.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/golden-eagle-5979b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"golden-eagle-5979b-ron-dudley\\"")
If vehicles like Plymouth Roadrunners, Buick Skylarks and Jeep Golden Eagles deserve the royal treatment of title case, I’ll be damned if I’ll write the name of this magnificent bird as golden eagle.<\/p>\nOn my watch it will always be Golden Eagle.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
and the long and bloody path to getting it “right”.<\/p>\n
- As far as I know all other bird oriented publications and organizations use title case for birds\u00a0including Auk<\/em>, The American Ornithological Society and others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n