common names of birds

[Arthur Chapman]

>>       As a famous mammalogist once  confided in me:
>>"There are really only 3 kinds of birds out there --
>>Big Brown birds, Little Brown birds, and Medium-Size
>>Brown birds.
>>
>>        Simple.
>>
>>        Krishtalka

Krishtalka reminds me of a recent meeting in Indonesia
where we were conducting a workshop with users of taxonomic
information and when it was suggested that Dipteriocarpaceae
(one of the major families of forest trees in Indonesia)
needed a lot more work as there were quite a few species
undescribed - a forester said what do we need to know about
all these species for - there are four main types:

The red ones that float
The red ones that sink
The yellow ones that float and
The yellow ones that sink

arthur

________________________________________________________________________________
Arthur D. Chapman  [Scientific Coordinator, Biogeographic Information, ERIN]

Environmental Resources Information Network     internet: arthur at erin.gov.au
GPO Box 787, Canberra,                             voice: +61-6-274 1066
ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA                                  fax: +61-6-274 1333