ocean warbler

11:15 Nov 10, 2006 

Since you're not pressed for time, I think contacting the author is the best solution. Armorel's solution won't work IMO because there's a number of German "translations" for warbler, depending on the species.

10:27 Nov 10, 2006 

I will probably end up doing something like that, but I have posted my query in other translation platforms, maybe somebody can come up with the right answer. I could also contact the author and ask her where she got the name from. As I am not pressed for time, I will wait and see. And - I will keep you posted. It is not a like David suggested. The exact quote is:

"I ticked off reing-necked duck, ocean warblers, belted kingfishers, smoked-back bacon - I mean green-backed heron, crossbills, hooded megansers, passerines, (moto) scoters and turkey vultures."

Could it be a pun (like motor scoters)?

10:13 Nov 10, 2006 

Since this doesn't appear to be any recognised species, would it be too fanciful to translate the term literally (Meersänger), putting it in inverted commas (perhas with a footnote too) to indicate that it is dubious?

19:06 Nov 9, 2006 

There's a list here: http://www.nps.gov/archive/pore/nature_species_birds.htm#Syl...
of the 490 species of birds seen at Pont Reyes. The warblers are under Parulidae, but there's nothing there that looks like an ocean warbler.

18:50 Nov 9, 2006 

18:49 Nov 9, 2006 

otherwise I would have provided the Latin name (and possibly found the German name myself). I did not discover a new species, I am afraid. This bird is mentioned in a book that I am translating and the author spends a day on a beach in Point Reyes National Park. There she spots green-backed herons, corssbills, hooded megansers, passerines, scotes and - you guessed right - ocean warblers. I found the Geman name of every other bird except this last one.

18:37 Nov 9, 2006 

There's an Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola, Seggenrohrsänger) and a River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis, Schlagschwirl), but no Ocean Warbler. If it's a local common name, only the scientific name (or a very good photo) could identify the bird.

17:20 Nov 9, 2006 

Agree with the puzzlement of Siegfried & Kim. All the warblers are land birds, so "ocean warbler" is a contradiction in terms. Something seen on a beach is more likely to be some sort of wader than a warbler.

16:22 Nov 9, 2006 

The beaches of North America - east coast, west coast, the Gulf of Mexico?

16:20 Nov 9, 2006 

Is it possible that you found a new species? "Ocean warbler" only delivers 6 google hit, and none of them has anything to do with a bird or an animal. Do you mean a "Reed warbler"?