Talk:Boreray sheep/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Chiswick Chap (talk · contribs) 07:05, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

Comments

• Northern European short-tailed sheep - wikilink in main text.  Done

Well you hadn't, actually, so I've done it for you. Please check the output article carefully before adding "done" marks.

• Could usefully be a 'further' link.  Done

Eh? There isn't a "further" or "main" link anywhere in the article.

• primarily raised for meat and wool - conflicts with the primarily conservation grazing argument of the main text. Please rearrange, cite, and make consistent.  Done

The text argues that the breed is primarily raised for meat and wool, and conservation grazing. Sources 10 and 11, section Use in Farming. TheMagikCow (talk) 10:40, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, but the lead doesn't.

reads much better now. thank you. TheMagikCow (talk) 12:38, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

• Second para of lead seems to belong in main text. It needs to be cited.  Done

• Lead needs to be rethought once it has been reorganized and made consistent with the main text: its job is to summarize the article, providing a short readable version of it; it must not introduce new information.

• "Category 2: Endangered" should similarly be mentioned in main text.  Done

• The "there is between 300 and 500 known to exist" of History conflicts with the numbers given in Population. Please update and clarify. (The "is" needs to go too.)  Done

• "Conservation grazing" needs to be explained, and probably linked and cited.  Done

• Soay sheep should be removed from See also.  Done

• The differences between Soay and Boreray sheep need to be explained and cited.  Done

• Horned "females": why not say ewes?  Done

• "Complete spirals" - whatever is a complete spiral, given that spirals can be infinite? What seems to be meant is that the horns of rams spiral (with age) through more than 360 degrees, forming one or more complete turns, whereas those of ewes turn more slowly.  Done - Greater than 360 degrees.

I've copy-edited to remove the suggestion of completeness.

• As for adjectives, this source says "The rams have striking majestic horns" which is exactly right and might be worth quoting.  Done

• How small is "small"? this source says "they stand approximately 55cm at the withers".  Done - You expanded it into text, I presume and I have sourced when it appeared. TheMagikCow (talk) 18:46, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

Not me, I think, but no matter.

• Are we to understand that the Boreray does in fact represent an unmodified St Kildian sheep as used by the former inhabitants, unlike both the Hebridean and the Soay? This seems worth discussing in the text, with refs of course.  Done

• Do Borerays now always have just one pair of horns? If their ancestors in C18th "often" had two pairs, when was this trait lost? Four-horned sheep of other breeds are still exhibited in Scotland.

I've checked and can't find any recent mentions of the trait.

• One of the few surviving descendants of the Dunface: which are the other rare breeds that descend from the Dunface? A brief mention with links would be helpful as context.  Done

• Tweeds: can we have some detail on what these are, who weaves them, what they are used for, and perhaps a photo of the product?  Done

• "most of the population are thought to be feral" - should be "is".  Done

• Image caption "less typical darker colouring" - could wikilink that text to "animal coloration".  Done

• References - it would be helpful to provide authors, dates and Publishers of any documents such as Breed Data Sheets cited.  Done

Could you provide more detail on what this is and some examples. Sorry! TheMagikCow (talk) 13:02, 22 November 2015 (UTC)

Nothing remarkable, just |date=29 February 2017 |author=Smith, John |publisher=Ministry of Food, that sort of thing.

I think that you have very kindly done that. thank you, but if there is anything more that I can do please ask. TheMagikCow (talk) 16:01, 22 November 2015 (UTC)

• It might be wise to go to https://archive.org/ and check that any such pages have been archived (or else at once to archive the pages yourself), so the links don't "rot". Even government pages have a habit of being moved to the national archives. (You can then add |archiveurl= and |archivedate= to these refs to protect them.)

Summary

This is an informative article on a very rare breed, properly cited and covering the main points in clear and concise form. I'm happy to accept it into the fold of good articles. Well done. Chiswick Chap (talk) 15:57, 22 November 2015 (UTC)

Thank you very much for all of your help and reviews - much appreciated! TheMagikCow (talk) 16:05, 22 November 2015 (UTC)