Five (and five more) obsolete common names for birds, taken from the index to Richard H. Pough, Audubon Bird Guide: Small Land Birds of Eastern & Central North America from Southern Texas to Central Greenland, 1946 and 1949, and their modern synonyms.
- Lichtenstein’s Oriole
- Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis). M. Heinrich Lichtenstein (1780-1857) was honored by Johann Wagler by naming the oriole for him.
- Bandit Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas). The old name has a lot more mojo.
- Batchelder’s Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens). Another eponym that perhaps was a casualty of lumping species together, in this case Gairdner’s Woodpecker, Nelson’s, and Willow.
- Cham-chack
- Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). I’d say, “like it sounds,” but the bird doesn’t sound like that at all.
- Forest Chippy
- Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivora). Described in the field guides as having voice like a Chipping Sparrow.
- Grease Bird
- Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis). Along with several other equally uncomplimentary names.
- Huckleberry Bird
- Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla). Apparently a preferred nesting substrate.
- John-chew-it
- Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus). This name-sayer name actually works. It’s also known as Whip-Tom-Kelly. Poor Tom.
- Pork and Beans
- Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor). Yet again, supposedly onomatopoetic. I don’t hear it.
- Flame-crest
- Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa). Another case where the old name is short, descriptive, and to the point, while the new one reads like a committee report. Sort of like the difference between the original Metro station names and the hyphenated jawbreakers we have today.