Read a book where a word in the title or part of the author's name is a bird rules
Talk 75 Books Challenge for 2011
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1DragonFreak
Challenge #16: Read a book where a word in the title or part of the author's name is a bird rules.
There are a lot of rules to this, so here’s a thread for it.
1. The book or author must have a name of a bird in it. It can be any bird, and it can be part of a larger title or name.
2. On the wiki, you put whether or not it’s the title or author then link the bird name (see examples below). When doing it, you can use Wikipedia, but I prefer www.arkive.com , because I trust that for anything with animals above all else.
3. It must be a real species of bird obviously, and subspecies don’t count. For example, if the title was “eagle” in it, “bald” or “golden” does not count. But you can use any subspecies of that bird for proof.
4. There are many different species of birds, and just maybe some authors have a name of one. For example, there are 30-some LibraryThingers who are reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, and martin is a name of a bird.
Examples: Look at these before you post anything. { is the same things as the square brackets so the touchstones won’t work
1. #{http://www.librarything.com/work/523 The Lark and Wren by Mercedes Lackey} – Title: {http://www.arkive.org/crested-lark/galerida-cristata/ Lark} and {http://www.arkive.org/rusty-throated-wren-babbler/spelaeornis-badeigularis/ Wren} – DragonFreak – Reading
2. #{http://www.librarything.com/work/50616 The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley} – Author: {http://www.arkive.org/flame-robin/petroica-phoenicea/ Robin} – DragonFreak – Reading
The latter I just read too fast for this month, and the former is what I’m going to read. Change the details that fit you.
Any questions? Please ask!
There are a lot of rules to this, so here’s a thread for it.
1. The book or author must have a name of a bird in it. It can be any bird, and it can be part of a larger title or name.
2. On the wiki, you put whether or not it’s the title or author then link the bird name (see examples below). When doing it, you can use Wikipedia, but I prefer www.arkive.com , because I trust that for anything with animals above all else.
3. It must be a real species of bird obviously, and subspecies don’t count. For example, if the title was “eagle” in it, “bald” or “golden” does not count. But you can use any subspecies of that bird for proof.
4. There are many different species of birds, and just maybe some authors have a name of one. For example, there are 30-some LibraryThingers who are reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, and martin is a name of a bird.
Examples: Look at these before you post anything. { is the same things as the square brackets so the touchstones won’t work
1. #{http://www.librarything.com/work/523 The Lark and Wren by Mercedes Lackey} – Title: {http://www.arkive.org/crested-lark/galerida-cristata/ Lark} and {http://www.arkive.org/rusty-throated-wren-babbler/spelaeornis-badeigularis/ Wren} – DragonFreak – Reading
2. #{http://www.librarything.com/work/50616 The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley} – Author: {http://www.arkive.org/flame-robin/petroica-phoenicea/ Robin} – DragonFreak – Reading
The latter I just read too fast for this month, and the former is what I’m going to read. Change the details that fit you.
Any questions? Please ask!
2SqueakyChu
Way cool, Dragonfreak! I like the way the birds' pictures are linked to the wiki entries. I'm guessing that everyone who enters your challenge is expected to do those links. If anyone needs any help with this, just ask.
3SqueakyChu
I am really loving this challenge, DragonFreak. Based on your challenge, I picked up the book Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welch, not even realizing that there really was a "Marabou Stork". I saw the bird's picture on arkive.com, and now it turns out that this bird is part of the plot of the book. I'd never heard of this particular type of stork before. It was fun to see pictures of that bird as I began to read my novel.
ETA: That is one ugly bird!!
ETA: That is one ugly bird!!
4DragonFreak
Thank you! I thought it was a pretty good one myself. I can see why the bird can be a "Nightmare"
6DragonFreak
I bet that'll fit into the May's theme right?
7amandameale
Woops! I've posted on the Wiki before reading The Rules.
I'm reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.
I'm reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.
8lorax
It must be a real species of bird obviously...
and martin is a name of a bird.
A name, but not a species; it's a generic term, like swallow or sparrow. "Purple Martin" or "Sand Martin" would be a species. For that matter, "Lark" isn't a species, either. You may want to clarify whether what you want are really species, or just types of birds.
ETA: If it helps you make your decision, going by the "must be a real species" requirement makes this challenge much more difficult. Only one of the books listed on the wiki qualifies (Marabou Stork Nightmares), and a quick check of my library shows that six books would qualify, vs. 49 with the looser "type of bird" criterion. That's using the most specific type of bird in common use, so something as generic as "raptor" or "shorebird" didn't count.
and martin is a name of a bird.
A name, but not a species; it's a generic term, like swallow or sparrow. "Purple Martin" or "Sand Martin" would be a species. For that matter, "Lark" isn't a species, either. You may want to clarify whether what you want are really species, or just types of birds.
ETA: If it helps you make your decision, going by the "must be a real species" requirement makes this challenge much more difficult. Only one of the books listed on the wiki qualifies (Marabou Stork Nightmares), and a quick check of my library shows that six books would qualify, vs. 49 with the looser "type of bird" criterion. That's using the most specific type of bird in common use, so something as generic as "raptor" or "shorebird" didn't count.
9countrylife
Nuts! So, my Raven doesn't count? (eta: The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston)
10kerryth
hopefully I've got this right!! first-timer so bear with me
A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines - Title http://arkive.org/kestrel/falco-tinnunculus/ - kerryth - started 1st May COMPLETED 2nd May
A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines - Title http://arkive.org/kestrel/falco-tinnunculus/ - kerryth - started 1st May COMPLETED 2nd May
11DragonFreak
>8 lorax: I think maybe I wanted just a "generic name". You think I should edit it? Darn, I thought I explained it so well. Any ideas on how I should change it?
>9 countrylife: Also, since that's exactly what I wanted, that will count too. Ugh!
>9 countrylife: Also, since that's exactly what I wanted, that will count too. Ugh!
12jolerie
So question about this whole species versus animal name - I want to read The Swan Maiden for the challenge but does Swan count or does it have to be a specific type of swan?
Nathan I think you can make the final call since this is a challenge that you issued? It depends if you want to make narrower and more hard or more broad and easier for people to find books to fit the challenge.
Edited to fix touchstones
Nathan I think you can make the final call since this is a challenge that you issued? It depends if you want to make narrower and more hard or more broad and easier for people to find books to fit the challenge.
Edited to fix touchstones
13lorax
11>
I think just saying a "real type of bird" gets you what you want; you want things like robin, sparrow, duck (but not "phoenix", which is why the "real" stipulation, right?), rather than requiring "American Robin", "Song Sparrow", "Long-tailed Duck". It's the use of "species" that was the confusing point.
I think just saying a "real type of bird" gets you what you want; you want things like robin, sparrow, duck (but not "phoenix", which is why the "real" stipulation, right?), rather than requiring "American Robin", "Song Sparrow", "Long-tailed Duck". It's the use of "species" that was the confusing point.
14DragonFreak
>12 jolerie: Yes, that book will work.
>13 lorax: Yes, that's exactly what I want. The way it is to me, that "Robin" is the species, and "American Robin" is the sub-species, but that may not be the case. I don't know much about zoology, only cryptozoology, but that does not help me there.
>13 lorax: Yes, that's exactly what I want. The way it is to me, that "Robin" is the species, and "American Robin" is the sub-species, but that may not be the case. I don't know much about zoology, only cryptozoology, but that does not help me there.
15SqueakyChu
I say hooray for the Marabou Stork! :-D
Photo from wikipedia
I agree that it would probably be best to just specify a real bird. That would make it more fun and not necessarily so hard.
Photo from wikipedia
I agree that it would probably be best to just specify a real bird. That would make it more fun and not necessarily so hard.
16gennyt
I've just finished Shooting at Loons, which I've read as part of the May Murder and Mayhem thread, but also qualifies for this challenge. I hope to finally get round to reading To Kill a Mockingbird this month also. (We call loons 'divers' in the UK.)
17lorax
14>
The way it is to me, that "Robin" is the species, and "American Robin" is the sub-species, but that may not be the case.
That's wrong. It's even worse in the case of robins than other choices you might list, because American Robins and European Robins, to take the most familiar examples, are not closely related at all but even in less pathological cases, the most specific familiar name you would think of -- Great Blue Heron, Barn Swallow, Great Horned Owl -- is a species, and "heron", "swallow", "owl" is a larger-scale grouping.
Other than ornithologists and the more obsessive birders, most people don't ever know about subspecies of birds. For instance, Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is a species. There are a couple dozen subspecies, but 99% of people would just call them all "Song Sparrow", which is the species.
The way it is to me, that "Robin" is the species, and "American Robin" is the sub-species, but that may not be the case.
That's wrong. It's even worse in the case of robins than other choices you might list, because American Robins and European Robins, to take the most familiar examples, are not closely related at all but even in less pathological cases, the most specific familiar name you would think of -- Great Blue Heron, Barn Swallow, Great Horned Owl -- is a species, and "heron", "swallow", "owl" is a larger-scale grouping.
Other than ornithologists and the more obsessive birders, most people don't ever know about subspecies of birds. For instance, Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is a species. There are a couple dozen subspecies, but 99% of people would just call them all "Song Sparrow", which is the species.
