SOUTH AFRICAN BIRD NAMES THROUGH TIME, LANGUAGE AND USAGE

548pp., b.w. & colour illus., paperback, University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg, 2025

ISBN: 9781869145798

Adrian Koopman and Echhart Buchmann trace bird name changes from the earliest recorded sets of names through various periods, finally arriving at the current set of internationally standardised names.

While they focus on English bird names, they have looked at bird names in other South African languages, as well as at other name-types, such as popular nicknames for birds, and regional and historical variations of the standard names.

Adrian Koopman is Professor Emeritus of Zulu at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and an Honorary Research Associate of the Durban University of Technology. He has published extensively on names and naming, with an emphasis on Zulu names.

Eckhart Buchmann is a retired gynaecologist and an avid birder with a special interest in bird names. He has published several academic articles on birding and bird names and serves as a member of the BirdLife South Africa List and Rarities Committee.