common names vs technical names

[John Shuey]

I simply have to add my two cents here.  I have always been a strong advocate
for using latin names for day to day communication.  This was re-inforced last
winter when I participated on a camping trip to el Triunfo, Chiapas Mexico.
The field trip was primarily for birders, and quetzals and other cloud forest
birds were the draw.  All the trip participants were gringos, mostly big city
gringos who knew absolutely no Spanish.  The guides/rangers at el Triunfo are
all from the surrounding communities, and know maybe 100 english words, mostly
revolving around food.

But here's the amazing thing.  Both groups knew the latin names for all the
birds.  The guides simply slid the birders into appropriate habitat, pointed
and rattled off latin names.  In the 5 daysthat we camped in the clouds, they
had a list of over 100 very specialized birds.

I do have to admit that this was all latin to me.  But then I don't know the
common names of birds either, and persoanlly was not interested.

Its the butterflies that were truly amazing.

--
John Shuey