Proposal (990) to South American Classification Committee

 

 

Change English name of Cape Petrel to Pintado Petrel

 

 

[Note from Remsen: This is Steve’s as is email from a ship somewhere in stormy seas south of Cape Horn, which is evidently not the cape from which Cape Petrel derives is name.]

 

Every time I see this bird I think I should write something like this, and with 20+ knots of wind and driving snow outsight right now off the South Shetlands, I have a little time to do so.

 

The English name of the dapper little petrel whose scientific name is Daption capense has long been Pintado Petrel, but in relatively recent years for reasons that are not entirely clear the English name in many books has shifted to the rather insipid Cape Petrel. Cape where? Cape Cod? Cape Horn? Cape Clear? I realize that Cape Sugarbird and other names do convey some useful geographic information with respect to the Cape District of South Africa, but for a circumpolar oceanic bird the name is not overly helpful.

 

The name pintado, meaning painted—as the bird looks to be spattered with white paint—has a long pedigree and was used by early Spanish (and Portuguese?) sailors for this charismatic ship-following petrel. Indeed, the genus name Daption is simply an anagram of Pintado (and as I recall has no other ‘meaning’), attesting to the long usage of the name Pintado Petrel. Perhaps Pintado is too difficult for English speakers to pronounce (hardly?) or perhaps it smacks of ‘foreign-ness’ or who knows why Cape Petrel came into being (I am in Antarctica right now, away from literature or more than rudimentary internet). Either way, the name Pintado is evocative and has a long history, will teach English speakers a Spanish name, and seems like a much better option than Cape Petrel. It is still used in some books by authors with a long history of pelagic ventures (e.g., Howell & Zufelt 2019, Oceanic Birds of the World) and this doesn’t seem to have been overly confusing for anyone).

 

Yes, OK, I realize this is not strictly an English word, but that is true of many ‘English’ bird names. For example, Inti, as in Inti Tanager (and more people know Spanish than they do some obscure South American native dialect), not to mention other names being coined these days (e.g., Schiffornis = a bird named for Mr. Schiff, hardly helpful unlike mourner, which does at least say something about the voice), so I won’t mention them in the interests of brevity.

 

Thus, I suggest that reverting to Pintado Petrel would bring more ‘color’ (if that is possible for a black, and-and-white bird) and history to English bird names, and also seems unlikely to offend anyone.

 

Respectfully submitted 11 January 2023 from the Bransfield Strait

 

 

Steve N. G. Howell, January 2024

 

 

 

Comments from Remsen: “YES. Although Cape Petrel has a long track record in recent years, resurrecting the previous name does counters somewhat the argument against destabilization.  Pintado Petrel was the name used by the AOU until the 5th edition (1957), which changed it to Cape Petrel.  (Its presence on the AOU list was based on a record from off Monterey no longer considered valid; <note to self – dig out that record – I recall it may have been a misidentified specimen>). Meyer de Schauensee (1970) used Pintado Petrel as an alternative name for Cape Petrel.  Murphy (1936) called it Cape Pigeon, and so perhaps that instigated the change in the Americas, at least for the Cape part.  (I gave away almost all my older books when I retired, so I no longer can fully research early usage.).  Regardless, for all the reasons mentioned above by Howell, Pintado is clearly the “better” name in my opinion, and for SACC that it is a Spanish word make it especially appealing to me.”

 

Comments from Jaramillo: “YES. I have considered writing this very same proposal many times. YES, Pintado is a good name and the original name. Cape is a name that is pretty useless for a bird that is about the most distinctive tubenose there is on earth.”

 

Comments from David Donsker (voting for Areta): “I can fill in some of the English names associated with this species that Steve and yourself were unable to provide:

 

“Earliest English Usage:

• Pintado Bird (Dampier. Voyages III 1729)

• White-and-Black Spotted Petrel (Edwards 1747)

• Pintado Petrel (Latham Gen. Syn. Birds 1785; But in his text Latham states that the birds are known as Cape Pigeons by sailors).

 

“But Cape Petrel was adopted in early Australian usage which continues until today:

• Cape Petrel (Gould Birds of Australia VII, 1843)

• Cape Petrel (Gould Handbook Birds Australia 1865)

• Cape Petrel (Mathews Birds of Australia 1912 through modern field guides)

 

“Also Cape Petrel in New Zealand has deep roots

• Cape Petrel (Buller Birds of New Zealand 1873 through modern field guides and official checklist; Gill et al.).

 

“South Africa: Initially referred to as Cape Pigeon but switched to Pintado Petrel since at least 1985.

• Cape Pigeon (Roberts 1940-1969)

• Pintado Petrel (Roberts 1985, 2005; Fifth ed. through Seventh ed.)

 

“Americas:

• Both Pintado Petrel and Cape Pigeon. (Coues Checklist of North American Birds 1873)

• Cape Pigeon (Hellmayr & Conover 1948)

 

“British:

• Cape Pigeon (Yarrell British Birds 1884)

• Cape Fulmar (Godman Petrels 1907-1910)

 

“So, history doesn't help much. Both Pintado Petrel and Cape Petrel/Pigeon have deep roots in the English language on both sides of the Atlantic and above and below the equator.

 

“Steve is being purposely coy in his proposal. The "Cape" is not really ambiguous. He and others know well that the "Cape" in Cape Petrel is the Cape of Good Hope. It's been the source of that name since the early sailors who called this species Cape Pigeon.

 

“From a global perspective it seems to me the three English speaking regions should have the strongest claim on the English name, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. But they are not united in this respect, so that doesn't help us much. I find it ironic, however, that South Africa, the nation with the very cape from which the bird was named, initially called it Cape Pigeon but has settled on Pintado Petrel since at least 1985.

 

“Another claimant for the name might reasonably be the Portuguese since they were likely the first Europeans to actually see this bird at the very beginning of the "Age of Exploration". Apparently, they call it Pintado. A point in its favor, historically.

 

“In my mind, it's a toss-up historically and by current international usage. But from a purely aesthetic perspective, I would favor the unique Pintado Petrel for this striking species.”

 

Comments from Stiles: “I like Pintado Petrel, so YES.”

 

Comments from Debra Shearwater (voting for Bonaccorso): “YES to Pintado, concurring 100% with SNGH.”

 

Comments from Zimmer: “YES.  Normally, I would be hesitant to go against a historically used name that is neither inappropriate nor misleading, and which is in wide use in other parts of the English-speaking world (i.e. Australia & New Zealand) with an equal or broader “claim” (based on distribution) to the species.  However, as David points out, the earliest English usage of  ‘Pintado’ as applied to Daption, pre-dates even the long-standing history of ‘Cape Petrel’, and has also been used by the South Africans since 1985.  Given this, and the opportunity to use a name that is evocatively descriptive and derivative of both Spanish and Portuguese, I’m for it.”

 

Comments from Rasmussen (replacing Schulenberg in voting for Robbins on English names): “YES. As yet another observer who recalls thinking in the field (most recently in Antarctica last year) that Pintado Petrel is without doubt a preferable name, I'll join the chorus for change in this case.

 

“I note that NACC had it in the main checklist as recently as 1983 (there stating in the Notes ‘Also known as Pintado Petrel and Cape Pigeon’, but in the 36th Supplement (1987) moved it to Appendix B (hypotheticals), where it is in the 1998 edition, which doesn't even list it in the Index. The 36th Supplement cites Bourne (1967) and Binford (1986) for rejection of all NACC-area records.”

 

Comments from Mark Pearman (voting for Claramunt): “NO. The type description of the genus Daption contains critical, overlooked information by those who have used the name Pintado Petrel or aspire to do so. To recap, the species was described as Procellaria capensis by Linnaeus in 1785. Then, Stephens (1826) erected Daption for various species of petrels, all of which he called “Pintados”, and designated capensis as the type species for the genus. He named the species Cape Pintado.

 

“Stephens also applied Daption antarcticum (= Thalassoica antarctica) as “Antarctic Pintado”, Daption niveum (=Pagadroma nivea) as “Snowy Pintado”, Daption desolatum (=Pachyptila desolata) as “Brown-banded Pintado”, Daption gelidum  (=Procellaria cinerea) as “Glacial Pintado”, Daption griseum (=Ardenna grisea) as “Dark-Grey Pintado”, Daption album (=Pterodroma alba) as “White Pintado” and Daption fuliginosum (=Nesofregetta albigularis) as “Sooty Pintado”.

 

“Importantly then, ‘pintado’ was a group name for many petrels and not used for a single species. So, with Pintado having been described for eight species, including Snowy Pintado, the nomenclature becomes awkward.

 

“According to Jobling (2011), Daption derives from daptes meaning eater, and Stephens makes graphic reference as such, ‘They feed on fish and the dead carcasses of whales, and are very voracious’.

 

“The word Cape (in Cape Petrel) clearly does refer to the Cape of Good Hope, as mentioned in the type description and by Stephens (1826) who called it Cape Pintado, and not to any old cape as suggested in the proposal.

 

“For what it’s worth, the Google hits for Pintado Petrel are 138,000 compared to 1.24 million for Cape Petrel and this shows that Cape Petrel is the established and preferred name. What gain or contribution could SACC make to change from a stable name to an ill contrived name?

 

“In summary, Cape Petrel unequivocally refers to D. capensis, and I see nothing wrong with retaining it. “Pintado Petrel” refers to many different species and turns out to have a very confusing and elaborate history. For the purposes of stability, which should be paramount in all considerations, Cape Petrel is the correct choice.”

 

Additional comment from Donsker: “I am persuaded by Mark’s comprehensive and compelling analysis. I change my vote to ‘NO’”.

 

Additional comments from Zimmer: “Per Mark Pearman’s comments/analysis regarding Proposal 990 (Changing Cape Petrel to Pintado Petrel), which, like David Donsker, I found compelling, I would like to change my vote to “NO”.

 

Additional comments from Remsen: “I’m sticking with a YES on this.  I appreciate all Mark’s good points and valuable research, but given that Pintado is in use and thus a valid competitor, and given that Pintado hasn’t been used as a group name for two centuries, I think Pintado is a better name.  It actually describes the appearance of the bird well – it really looks like it was splashed with paint.  In contrast, Cape says nothing useful about the bird.  That Pintado is a Spanish word works especially well for SACC.”

 

Additional comments from Stiles: “YES.  Although the nomenclatural history of these is definitely intertwined, I consider “Pintado” to be the more evocative name as well as the least subject to confusion by the unwary.. and the fact that south Africans are now using Pintado is another  (small) point in its favor. I also like it because it translates unchanged into Spanish.”

 

Comments from Lane: “NO.  Frankly, I am entirely ambivalent on this topic. I have used both names, and they both seem appropriate. I think Mark Pearman's comments are strong enough for me to think that staying with Cape Petrel may be the preferable move, but I would not have any strong feelings about changing to Pintado Petrel. So, a very weak NO.”

 

Comments from David Ainley (voting for Del-Rio): “YES, although I've long wondered about why the two names.  Howell & Zufelt (2019) aren't all that helpful, as they use 'Pintado (Cape) Petrel.'  It's obscure what 'Cape' refers to other than maybe mariners of old first encountering them upon rounding Cape Horn or Cape of Good Hope, and subantarctic waters.  Reading the link and reasoning provided by Steve Howell, I would agree with him and have the bird named Pintado Petrel. It's coloration is very dark, splattered with white 'paint.'”

 

Comments solicited from Marshall Iliff: “I wholeheartedly support the proposal to use Pintado Petrel. This is a bit of an interesting case, because I think the prevailing usage can be fairly persuasively considered to be strongly weighted towards Cape Petrel (as Mark argued). But the fact remains that Pintado Petrel *is* in use in some regions (e.g., South Africa) and to me that opens the door for consideration of the merits of either name.”

 

Additional comment from Remsen: “Dave’s (Donsker) tally shows that the South Africans, of the very “cape” in question, use “Pintado”, so I think that should carry some weight.”

 

Additional comments from Zimmer: “YES.  I voted YES when this Proposal first came out, then changed to NO based on the comments from Mark Pearman, which I found persuasive, but after reflecting upon further discussions, I find myself back in the YES camp where I started.”

 

Additional comments from Lane: “As I said above, I am really pretty ambivalent about which name is used. My own experience with the species is entirely from New Zealand, where it is a fairly common species, and is represented by two regularly occurring taxa (as opposed to South Africa, where just the nominate is regular)… and in the Australasian region (including NZ and Australia), the species seems to be pretty uniformly called “Cape something” (either “Petrel” or “Pigeon”—at least based on the publications I have from NZ and Australia immediately at my fingertips) so I guess your focus on which name is favored by the local set of observers all depends on where you sample the observers—resulting in something akin to a “Black-bellied/Grey Plover” scenario. As such, I really don’t know if the winds blow so strongly in favor of “Pintado” among the Southern Hemisphere English-speaking communities where the species is most regularly seen. If the vote favors Pintado, I’m ok with that, but I’m also willing to stick with “Cape” too, so NO to changing the name based on Mark’s comments and my own experience in NZ.”