Maybe a College, but Not Coed

The exchange below was posted on BirdChat, part of the National Birding Hotline Cooperative. It is online at listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat. html.

Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 01:42:50

From: Elizabeth

Subject: Conclave of Cardinals

A picture of the conclave of cardinals in Rome appeared on one of my regular online news outlets. And it occurred to me that our North American bright-red crested species must have been named after the ecclesiastical officials in Rome (rather than the other way around). Any chance that a flock of Northern Cardinals is referred to as a “conclave”? Just wondering.

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Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 08:13:48

From: Bob

Subject: Re: Conclave of Cardinals

“Conclave” comes from the Latin “clave,” which translates as “with key.” It refers to the fact that the cardinals are locked into the Sistine Chapel when voting for a new pope. A better term for all Northern Cardinals now living might be the “college” of Northern Cardinals, since that is the term generally used for the entirety of Roman Catholic guys in red.

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Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 09:39:39-0400

From: Eric

Subject: Re: Conclave of Cardinals

I have looked in several books, including Lipton, and find no evidence of either conclave or college being used to describe a gathering of the bird sort of cardinals.... In fact I found no specific term for cardinals, so by default they would be described by the general terms used for flocks of small birds, such as dissimulation or drift. Of course Lipton at least allows for the adoption of new terms, so people should feel free, and for the reasons Bob gave -- i.e., that a conclave implies a secret meeting -- college is probably a better choice.

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Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 20:35:25

From: Bob

Subject: Re: Conclave of Cardinals

Please note that the “college” of cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church applies to the whole order of cardinals, not to a gathering of only a few of them. A collection of just a few Northern Cardinals in the backyard would not be a “college” in the same sense.

Nevertheless, if there can be a gaggle of geese, a murder of crows and a tribe of chickadees, why not a “college” of Northern Cardinals?

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Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 20:41:47

From: Laura

Subject: Re: Conclave of Cardinals

Having some experience with the St. Louis variety, why not call a backyard group of cardinals a “team”? That could work for Orioles and Blue Jays, too.

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Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 22:17:58

From: Sarah

Subject: Conclave of Cardinals

Please be sure to adhere to the traditional orthodoxy (reinforced now by the recent choice of pope): You may only use the terms “college” and/or “conclave” when there is not even a single female Northern Cardinal present.