Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0020142, Sat, 29 May 2010 18:29:58 -0600

Subject
Re: meaning of "wax" in waxwing
Date
Body
Mr. Studdard might want to know that it's the texture as well as the color.
Here's a picture:

http://www.hiltonpond.org/images/WaxwingCedarWaxyTips01.jpg

We can connect the scientific name *Bombycilla* with the theme of
mistranslation in *Pale Fire*. The genus was named by Vieillot, who wanted
to translate the German and Swedish names, which mean "silktail". He
correctly used Latin *bombyx,* "silk", but misunderstood the *-cilla* in
Linnaeus's name *Motacilla* for the wagtails as meaning "tail".

http://books.google.com/books?id=O07_W9NF39MC&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false

Cedar Waxwings are indigenous to all of North America from southern Canada
to Panama. They breed only in the cooler regions, including the higher
elevations of the southeastern U.S., so they might be in New Wye at any time
of year, and they visit the rest of the continent in migration and winter.
Flocks of thousands would be migrating or wintering, not breeding.

Jerry Friedman

On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 1:50 PM, Carolyn Kunin
<chaiselongue@earthlink.net>wrote:

> Dear Mr Karp,
>
> I understood that the "wax" in the name referred to the spots of red color
> under the wings, the color of sealing *wax. *
> *Carolyn
> *
> On May 27, 2010, at 2:10 PM, james studdard wrote:
>
> The Cedar Waxwing is indigenous to the southeastern U.S. a very colorful
> bird, known for its waxy look and crested head. They fly in flocks of
> thousands and usually roost for the night around sundown. I remember, as a
> child, sitting in the woods, BB gun at the ready, only to be discouraged by
> a great downpouring of digested berries.
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Barrie Karp <barriekarp@GMAIL.COM>
> *To:* NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> *Sent:* Thu, May 27, 2010 1:08:01 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [NABOKV-L] Fw: Falando em passarinhos....
>
>
> http://www.google.com/search?q=waxwing&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Waxwing
>
> Says it's a North American bird.
>
> Barrie
> --
> Barrie Karp, Ph.D., Philosophy
> barriekarp@gmail.com
> New York City!
>
> On Wed, May 26, 2010 at 12:04 PM, Jansy <jansy@aetern.us> wrote:
>
>> someone sent these images to me, a campaign against windowpanes that have
>> a reflective surface. It is curiously named here "New York syndrome".
>>
>> I don't know if this is of interest to the list and "the waxwings
>> slain". Here the birds are tropical and varicolored...
>>
>
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