There's a treasure trove of these in the 1709 book A New Voyage to Carolina by John Lawson. Some of them are easier to figure out than others. The Beasts of Carolina are the Buffelo, or wild Beef. Bear. Panther. Cat-a-mount. Wild Cat. Wolf. Tyger. Polcat. Otter. Bever. Musk-Rat. Possum. Raccoon. Minx. Water-Rat. Rabbet, two sorts. Elks. Stags. Fallow-Deer. Squirrel, four sorts. Fox. Lion, and Jackall on the Lake. Rats, two sorts. Mice, two sorts. Moles. Weasel, Dormouse. Bearmouse. Insects* of Carolina Allegators Rattle-Snakes Ground Rattle-Snakes Horn-Snakes Water-Snakes, four sorts Swamp Snakes, three sorts Red-bellied Land-Snakes Red-back'd Snake Black Truncheon Snake Scorpion-Lizard Green Lizard Frogs, many sorts Long black Snake King-Snake Green Snake Corn Snake Vipers black and gray Tortois Terebin Land and Water Brimstone-Snake Egg, or Chicken-Snake Eel-Snake, or great Loach Brown Lizard Rotten-wood Worm, & c. * For some unexplained reason, Lawson classified Reptiles and Amphibians as Insects. Birds of Carolina Eagle bald Eagle gray Fishing Hawk Turkey Buzzard, or Vulture Herring-tail'd Hawk Goshawk Falcon Merlin Sparrow-hawk Hobby Jay Green Plover Plover gray or whistling Pigeon Turtle Dove Parrakeeto Ring-Tail Raven Crow Black Birds, two sorts Buntings, two sorts Pheasant Woodcock Snipe Partridge Moorhen Red Bird East-India Bat Martins, two sorts Diveling, or Swift Swallow Humming Bird Thrush Wood-Peckers, five sorts Mocking-birds, two sorts Cat-Bird Cuckoo Blue-Bird Bulfinch Nightingale Hedge-Sparrow Wren Sparrows, two sorts Lark The Tom-Tit, or Ox-Eye Owls, two sorts Scritch Owl Baltimore bird Throstle, no Singer Whippoo Will Reed Sparrow Weet bird Rice bird Cranes and Storks Snow-birds Yellow-wings Water Fowl are, Water Fowl. Swans, called Trompeters Swans, called Hoopers Geese, three sorts Brant gray Brant white Sea-pies or pied Curlues Will Willets Great Gray Gulls Old Wives Sea Cock Curlues, three sorts Coots Kings-fisher Loons, two sorts Bitterns, three sorts Hern gray Hern white Water Pheasant Little gray Gull Little fisher, or Dipper Gannet Shear-water Great black pied Gull Marsh-hens Blue Peter's Sand-birds Runners Ducks, as in England Ducks black, all Summer Ducks pied, build on Trees Ducks whistling, at Sapona Ducks scarlet-eye, at Esaw Blue-wings Widgeons Teal, two sorts Shovelers Whisslers Black Flusterers, or bald Coot Turkeys wild Fishermen Divers Raft Fowl Bull-Necks Redheads Tropick-birds Pellican Cormorant Tutcocks Swaddle-bills Men [mew] Sheldrakes Bald Faces Water Witch, or Ware Coot Fish of Carolina The Fish in the salt, and fresh Waters of Carolina, are, Whales, several sorts Thrashers Divel-Fish Sword-Fish Crampois [grampus] Bottle-Noses [dolphins] Porpoises Sharks, two sorts Dog-Fish Spanish-Mackarel Mullets Shad Fat-Backs Guard, white Guard, green Scate or Stingray Thornback Congar-Eels Lamprey-Eels Eels Cavallies Boneto's Blue-Fish Drum, red Drum-Fish, black Angel-Fish Bass, or Rock-Fish Sheeps-Heads Plaice Flounder Soles Sun-Fish Toad-Fish Sea-Tench Trouts of the Salt Water Crocus [croaker] Herring Smelts Shads Breams Taylors Fresh-Water Fish are, Sturgeon Pike Trouts Gudgeon Pearch English Pearch, white Pearch, brown, or Welch-men Pearch, flat, and mottled, or Irishmen Pearch small and flat, with red Spots, call'd round Robins Carp Roach Dace Loaches Sucking-Fish Cat-Fish Grindals Old-Wives Fountain-Fish White-Fish The Shell-Fish are, Large Crabs, call'd Stone-Crabs Smaller flat Crabs Oysters great and small Cockles Clams Muscles Conks Skellop [scallop] Man of Noses Periwinkles, or Wilks Sea-Snail-Horns Fidlars Runners Spanish or Pearl-Oysters Flattings Tortois and Terebin, accounted for among the Insects Finger-Fish [star fish] Shrimps Fresh Water Craw-Fish Muscles
These are the ones that I could figure out. Buffelo, or wild Beef. [Bison] Panther, Cat-a-mount. [Cougar] Tyger. [Cougar?] Wild Cat. [Bobcat] Polcat. [Skunk] Stags, Fallow-Deer. [White-tailed deer] Lion, and Jackall on the Lake. [Local rumors about lion and dog-like creatures that stalk a remote lake] Bearmouse/Rearmouse. [Bat] Scorpion-Lizard [Skink?] Green Lizard/Brown Lizard [Carolina anole] Long black Snake/ Egg, or Chicken-Snake [Rat snake] Vipers black and gray [Cottonmouth and Copperhead] Tortois [Sea turtles] Terebin Land and Water [Terrapins and Tortoises] Brimstone-Snake [Glass lizard] Rotten-wood Worm, & c. [Worm snake] Fishing Hawk [Osprey] Turtle Dove [Mourning dove] Parrakeeto [Carolina parakeet] Pheasant [Grouse?] Partridge [Bobwhite] Red Bird [Cardinal] Brant white [Snow goose] Hern gray [Great blue heron] Hern white [Great white egret] Ducks pied, build on Trees/Fishermen [Hooded merganser?] Ducks scarlet-eye, at Esaw [Wood duck] Blue-wings [Blue-winged teal] Men [mew] Divel-Fish [Manta ray] Crampois [Grampus] Bottle-Noses [Dolphin] Crocus [croaker] Skellop [scallop] Fidlars [Fiddler crab] Finger-Fish [star fish]
I had forgotten about Passenger pigeons but I think that Pigeon is referring to them since Turtle dove was another old name for the Mourning dove.
I don't know whether or not this is a common mistranslation, but I have a Japanese textbook which says that the Japanese word, suppon, means, 'snapping turtle; terrapin'. Never mind the implication that snapping turtles and terrapins are the same animal; suppon is actually the Japanese name of the Chinese softshell turtle!
The Book of Indian Animals from 1971 I believe has some interesting ones. Sorry if any have already been mentioned. Hunting Leopard= Cheetah Tiger Civet= Spotted Linsang Toddy Cat= Common Palm Civet Cat-bear= Red Panda (used in preference to the other name) Antelope-rat= “Gerbille” Mole-rat= Bandicoot Rat Mouse-hare= Pika Indian Bison= Gaur
But some of these names are still in use in India right? I have definitely seen fairly recent articles written by Indian conservationists about dhole populations that mentioned "Indian bison" because I remember thinking at the time "wtf is an Indian bison?" and then learning that it was another word for the gaur.
- When it was first discovered, the Sloth bear was naked "bear-sloth", as its discoverer thought it was a close relative of the extinct giant ground sloths of South America. Later, the name was changed once people realized it was a type of bear. - Another one is the Red-crested and red-capped cardinals, which are actually tanagers and aren't related to other cardinals.
The very wrong name of "Cape Pigeon" was applied to the Cape Petrel for a long time in New Zealand; I think that it only became unpopular in the late 20th century.
They have been a little closer related to true cardinals than currently. Grosbeak is another name spread across a few different families, as is tanager.
Most New Zealanders insist on referring to the Grey Gerygone and Chatham Island Gerygone as "Warblers" in English.
Scientifically, the Spoon-billed sandpiper was originally described as the “Pygmy spoonbill”, and the Great Frigatebird as the “Least pelican”.
It is definitely still a term being used in popular articles in India from what I've seen. Indian Bison Pune: Indian bison strays into residential area in Pune; dies after rescue | Pune News - Times of India
