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Il est assez défiant envers l'homme.

English translation: They tend to be wary of humans.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Il est assez défiant envers l\'homme.
English translation:They tend to be wary of humans.

10:16 May 1, 2019
French to English translations [PRO]
Science - Environment & Ecology / Bird description
French term or phrase: Il est assez défiant envers l'homme.
In an 1884 description of a bird species, presumably about its behaviour.


No more specific context regarding behaviour, description then procedes to describe song. Previous paragraph talks about fly catching behaviour.

Taczanowski, W., 1884. Ornithologie du Pérou. Vol 2. p 325
C
They tend to be wary of humans.
Explanation:
I assume it's wariness rather than aggressiveness it's referring to. I chose "they" = the birds rather than "it" = the species because I think it sounds nicer style-wise, but of course "it" might be necessary in the context of the surrounding sentences.
Selected response from:

Philippa Smith
Local time: 14:21
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6They tend to be wary of humans.
Philippa Smith


  

Answers


29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
Il est assez défiant envers l\'homme.
They tend to be wary of humans.


Explanation:
I assume it's wariness rather than aggressiveness it's referring to. I chose "they" = the birds rather than "it" = the species because I think it sounds nicer style-wise, but of course "it" might be necessary in the context of the surrounding sentences.

Philippa Smith
Local time: 14:21
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 32

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Elizabeth Tamblin: Yes, it's referring to the Rufous Flycatcher
15 mins
  -> Thanks Elizabeth!
agree  Ph_B (X): esp. with the "they"/"it" bit. Aso found XIXth century texts (Audubon) describing birds as "distrustful".
16 mins
  -> Many thanks!
agree  James A. Walsh
54 mins
  -> Thanks James!
agree  philgoddard: I'm not sure, but I think "méfiant" may be more common now. http://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/Défier
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Phil, yes that's what I thought too.
agree  Charles Davis: I too thought "méfiant" seemed more suitable, but this word has changed meaning; in Acad. 4th-6th eds (1762-1835) défiant is defined as "soupçonneux, qui craint toujours qu'on ne le trompe" https://tinyurl.com/yyanov7h . So wary is spot on.
8 hrs
  -> Thanks Charles, an excellent ref as usual!
agree  Michele Fauble
10 hrs
  -> Thanks Michele!
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