Original Column
SDSTAFF bibliophage wrote in this article that the Tamil word for a peacock is “tuka”. Tha popular Tamil word for a peacock is “mayil” and of the numerous poetical allusions used, none match “tuka”. The closest is “thOgai” (with the stress on the first syllable) which is the colourful tail of the male peacock and doesn’t refer to the peacock as such. Just thought you would like to know. 
-Ravi.
Welcome to the SDMB, Ravi.
As I said elsewhere in the report “It’s hard to understand the fascination Tamil holds for the inventors of false etymologies. Maybe they figure most of us can’t speak it and so will believe almost anything about it.” I’m guilty as charged. I don’t speak Tamil and I couldn’t even find a good Tamil dictionary at the library.
Was I right about Tamil having two words for turkey that literally translate as “sky chicken” and “foreign chicken”? I can’t quite rerember where I found those now.
Bibliophage: I spent a long time going through some of your staff reports. You guys are doing a great job! Since I am new here, what gives with the SDSFs? The SD Faq says that Cecil works alone. When did that change?
Tamil does have a word for turkey that literally translates as “sky chicken”. It is infact two words for sky and chicken put together. [vaan (sky) kozhi (chicken)]. I haven’t come across “foreign chicken” before. Let me check and get back to you.
err… I meant SDSTAFF reports… when I wrote SDSFs.
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, ravib, glad to have you with us. Especially with such a “trivial” (and highly helpful) first post!
The FAQ don’t exactly say that Cecil works alone, but that he doesn’t have an army of researchers. That’s absolutely true. The Straight Dope Science Advisory Board (SDSAB) were set up to write Staff Reports (called “Mailbag” earlier in their career.) Cecil gets some questions that he thinks might be interesting to the Teeming Millions, but he doesn’t want to answer them himself. Sometimes, because they’re too easy and could be looked up by anyone who cared to. Sometimes, because the answer is way longer than would fit in his column, and he doesn’t want to do more work than what he gets paid for. Sometimes, because… um… well, just “because” and we’re not sure (he is an eccentric genius.)
The columns appear online, and in high-quality alternative newspapers throughout the U.S. (I’m not sure about non-U.S. newspapers picking it up, although I think a couple have recently.) The Staff Reports only appear online.
So, as the FAQ say, the Columns are written by Cecil and edited by Ed Zotti. Sometimes, SDSAB get called upon to assist Cecil with research, like If you flex your muscle when a mosquito bites you, will it swell up and explode? and other times Staff help Ed Zotti by locating or checking sources.
CKDH: Thanks for reply.
Bibliophage: I haven’t found any additional info, except that if “foriegn chicken” exists it is most probably a local dialect, and translates as “seemai kOzhi”. But I couldn’t confirm it from someone who would speak that dialect.
I thought a turkey was called a turkey because dodo was already taken.