Mrs Moreau’s Warbler

A very enjoyable read that delves into the history of bird names and the stories of some of people the birds were named by and for. Like, Stephen Moss\’ other books, this one is an easy read, filled with interesting stories and for would make a nice gift for anyone interested in birds and history. It mainly deals with British birds, but, of course, since British ornithologists named birds world-wide (including the African warbler of the title) other parts of the get come coverage as well.

I try to find different library books which will challenge my brain during retirement. I checked this book out from the library and after reading it decided to purchase it and share with my friends. It includes some amazing historical facts, as well as how important birds are in our lives. So unexpected – based on the title.

I enjoyed this book although it wasn\’t about what I expected. I thought it was going to detail various expeditions, trips and bird-spotting habits of yesteryear, and to a degree it was. However, mostly we look at etymology, the evolution of language in Britain (from Proto-Indo-European), the folk names birds had in different regions and who got to name newly-discovered (meaning shot, when there were no good binoculars and cameras) birds. From this we proceed to look at birds named after persons – I have never seen the term eponymous used so many times. And how birds are constantly being re-classified, rearranged into sub-species and even renamed. The author tells us about a few of his own birding trips, including a one-day list contest of migrating birds, and a trek to search for the bird of the title, so this warbler is eponymous in two senses. I note the wry \’little brown job\’ bird type so commonly spotted; this is like the botanists\’ \’g-d-darn yellow flower\’. The linguistics are more easily followed than some might expect – Anglo-Saxons were invaded by Vikings who brought new Germanic words to Old English. Then French speakers came with the Norman Conquest. As the author points out, the languages melded and gained equal status, which is highly unusual. So English today has many synonyms such as wed and marry, kingly and royal, pretty and beautiful. Although the author doesn\’t labour the point, the words I placed second are clearly French in origin, and have no similarity to the first, more Germanic words. But the birds were named by the people who saw them first, and names varied up and down the country for the same species. The author does take a few things for granted in his readership, such as understanding how and why the natural historians classified species and gave them Latin names. He credits them with a visual knowledge of many bird species and with reasonably good geographical knowledge, as there are no photos and no maps. Well, we can Google anything we\’re not sure about, and this includes pictures of birds beyond the scope of a book of birds in Northern Europe. On the other hand in the section on raptors, rather than discuss trophic levels and pesticides building up in the food web, we\’re treated to an explanation of why the tabletop football game Subbuteo is named after the Hobby. Great fun. This book would suit bird-lovers, anyone studying nature or etymology, and I recommend pairing it with Coves of Departure by John Seibert Farnsworth, The Urban Birder by David Lindo, Birding Without Borders by Noah Stryker. Notes P317 – 340 which include odd names, like the lachrymose mountain ranger. Index P341 – 357. I counted 38 names which I could be sure were female. I borrowed a copy from the Royal Dublin Society Library. This is an unbiased review.

Almost completely lacking in any sort of organization, and fluttering about from bird name to bird name, this eminently browseable and generally amusing book is a real hoot. While the blurbs emphasize expeditions, rival ornithologists, romantic gestures, and the like, (and there are lots of extended bits about all of those things), the book is mostly an exploration of language. How it evolves and changes, and how the names of birds have evolved and changed or remained constant over the centuries. The long essay about where \”goose\”, (our oldest bird name), came from and how and why it survived is worth the price of the book right there. Moss is a fine and engaging companion, and avoids twee rhapsodizing about birds. His style is more along the lines of slightly disorganized and rambling enthusiasm, and when that\’s coupled, as it is here, with a dry sense of humor, the result is truly delightful. (Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I\’ve always been fascinated by how birds were named, which is the main focus of this book, but there is so much more to this work, taking in history, linguistics and general ornithology. Very well written.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member