Tracking the ancestral Portuguese name of the osprey across the Atlantic: hints from language, literature, history and geography

Guincho, the traditional Portuguese name of the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is unique and ancestral. It is found in several sorts of fictional literature from the 16th up to the early 20th centuries in the form of a metaphor born from an old popular proverb. The first time the name appears as the vernacular designation of the osprey is in a 17th falconry treatise, and then in old dictionaries and early ornithological monographs and catalogues throughout the 18th to early 20th centuries. In Portugal, however, the name barely survives, partly due to the species demise in the country during the 20th century, but mainly because it was gradually replaced by an erudite term in ornithological literature since the middle 19th century. However, given the conspicuousness of the species and its nests, the name and its composites are retained in a number of places along the coast. And, following the Portuguese diaspora of the 16th-18th centuries, the term spread to the archipelagos of Madeira, Cape Verde and the Canaries where it impregnated the local vocabulary and again gave the name to many coastal places. Then, it moved from the Canaries to the Spanish speaking areas of the Caribbean riding the mass migration of Canary Islanders to the new colonies. In consequence, the traditional Portuguese name of the osprey is still fully used in several island countries across the Atlantic. The remarkable presence of the ancestral Portuguese name of the osprey in language, literature and geography allows its rehabilitation as the proper popular name of the species and sanctions its legitimacy as a tool for reconstructing the ancient historical ranges of the osprey. Ultimately, revaluing the name is also a matter of cultural preservation, which compliments and enriches the current efforts for the species recovery in Portugal

Phytotoponyms, Geographical Features and Vegetation Coverage in Western Hubei, China

The purpose of this paper is to present and exploit fundamental information, such as semantic meanings and geographical features, of phytotoponyms (a type of toponym that includes plant names) in Western Hubei (China). Long-term vegetation degradation is also estimated. Toponym data for this study were obtained from the place names database of Hubei Province at the Civil Affairs Department of Hubei. In total, 1259 instances of phytotoponyms were recognised; 898 (71.3%) were woody plant toponyms, and 361 (28.7%) were herbaceous plant toponyms. Subsequently, we randomly selected a similar number (1250) of non-phytotoponyms to compare with the phytotoponyms. All toponyms were localised and geo-referenced. The results showed that the most common plant names recognisable in place names are common plants that have a close connection with daily life and positive morals in Chinese culture and literature. The occurrence of plant names can reflect the characteristic plants of a city. The vegetation coverage rate where phytotoponyms are located is higher than that in non-phytotoponym areas. Altitude has a stronger correlation with the number of phytotoponyms than slope and vegetation coverage degree. The identification of long-term vegetation degradation based on phytotoponyms is presented for reference only, and other methods and materials are needed to validate these results

Phytotoponyms, Geographical Features and Vegetation Coverage in Western Hubei, China

The purpose of this paper is to present and exploit fundamental information, such as semantic meanings and geographical features, of phytotoponyms (a type of toponym that includes plant names) in Western Hubei (China). Long-term vegetation degradation is also estimated. Toponym data for this study were obtained from the place names database of Hubei Province at the Civil Affairs Department of Hubei. In total, 1259 instances of phytotoponyms were recognised; 898 (71.3%) were woody plant toponyms, and 361 (28.7%) were herbaceous plant toponyms. Subsequently, we randomly selected a similar number (1250) of non-phytotoponyms to compare with the phytotoponyms. All toponyms were localised and geo-referenced. The results showed that the most common plant names recognisable in place names are common plants that have a close connection with daily life and positive morals in Chinese culture and literature. The occurrence of plant names can reflect the characteristic plants of a city. The vegetation coverage rate where phytotoponyms are located is higher than that in non-phytotoponym areas. Altitude has a stronger correlation with the number of phytotoponyms than slope and vegetation coverage degree. The identification of long-term vegetation degradation based on phytotoponyms is presented for reference only, and other methods and materials are needed to validate these results