Birds in Costa Rica and Guatemala

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Families, genera, and species are presented in alphabetical order. The nomenclature largely follows the IOC World Bird List (worldbirdnames.org). Information about etymology is often based on J.A. Jobling, 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, Christopher Helm, London.

In case you find any errors, I would be grateful to receive an email. You may use the address at the bottom of this page.

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the common buzzard (Buteo buteo).

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin magnus (‘large’) and rostrum (‘bill’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was introduced in 1830 by French surgeon and naturalist René-Primevère Lesson (1794-1849), for the rufous crab hawk (B. aequinoctialis). It is a combination of the genus names Buteo (buzzards) and Gallus (junglefowl). Apparently, he found that this bird looked like a mixture of the two.

 

The specific name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘charcoal’, alluding to the colour of the bird.

 

 

 

 

 

These birds are divided into 3 subfamilies: river kingfishers (Alcedininae), tree kingfishers (Halcyoninae), and water kingfishers (Cerylinae).

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek khloros (‘green’), combined with the generic name Ceryle, derived from Ancient Greek kerylos, an unidentified, probably mythical bird, mentioned by scientist and philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) and other authors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek dendron (‘tree’) and kyknos (‘swan’), alluding to the fact that these ducks often breed in tree cavities, and to their fairly long neck. Several members have clear, whistling calls, which gave rise to the popular name.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘of the autumn’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

One or three species are found in the Old World. If only one species is acknowledged, it is called A. melanogaster. Most authorities, however, recognize three full species: Oriental (A. melanogaster), African (A. rufa), and Australasian (A. novaehollandiae).

The generic name means ‘little head’ in the Tupi language of Brazil, referring to an evil spirit of the forests, the devil bird. (Source: G. Marcgrave 1648. Historiae rerum naturalium Brasiliae. Liber V)

 

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

Many members of the family are presented on the pages Fishing, and Animals – Birds: Birds in Taiwan.

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for herons.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Middle English botor (‘bittern’), and Ancient Greek oides (‘resembling’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘greenish’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from eastern and southern Mexico southwards to Paraguay and southern Brazil.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Provençal French aigrette, a diminutive of aigron (‘heron’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘blue’.

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

It breeds along both coasts, from Oregon and Massachusetts southwards to Central America, in the Caribbean, and in South America, southwards to central Chile and Argentina. It is also found in many scattered locations in the interior United States, where populations are migratory, wintering mainly in Mexico and Central America.

In 1782, the specific name was mistakenly applied to this bird by Chilean Jesuit priest and naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina (1740-1829), who didn’t realize that in fact thula was the local Mapuduncun name for the black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus).

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

It is the only living member of the genus, as another member, the Bermuda night-heron (N. carcinocatactes), which was restricted to Bermuda, is extinct.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek nyx (‘night’), genitive nyktos (‘of the night’), and anassa (‘queen’), referring to its nocturnal habits, and its beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek tigris (‘tiger’) and soma (‘body’), alluding to the striped plumage of these birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek bous (‘ox’) and ‘rhinos’ (‘nose’, or, in this connection, ‘bill’), alluding to the large bill of these birds. The name thick-knee refers to the swelling of the leg joint.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘double-striped’, referring to the bird having two stripes from the crown to the back of the head.

 

 

 

 

 

In the old days, these birds were often called goatsuckers, as it was believed that they would suck milk from goats at night. This belief dates back to Roman philosopher and naturalist Pliny the Elder (c. 23-79 A.D.), who called these birds caprimulgus, derived from capra (‘she-goat’) and mulgere (‘to milk’). In 1758, this name was adopted by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), when he named the European nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus. In German, nightjars are still called Ziegenmelker (‘goat-milkers’).

 

The generic name is very poetic, derived from Ancient Greek khoreia, a kind of dance with music, and deile (‘evening’). This name was introduced in 1832 by English naturalist and artist William Swainson (1789-1855), who brought back to England a huge collection from Brazil and other places, including over 20,000 insects, 1,200 species of plants, drawings of 120 species of fish, and about 760 bird skins.

While Swainson was generally regarded as having some expertise in zoology, his botanical career turned out to be disastrous. William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), the first director of the famous Kew Botanical Gardens, wrote about him: “In my life I think I never read such a series of trash and nonsense. There is a man who left this country with the character of a first rate naturalist (though with many eccentricities), and of a very first-rate natural history artist, and he goes to Australia and takes up the subject of botany, of which he is as ignorant as a goose.”

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin acutus (‘sharp’) and‎ penna (‘flight feather’), although penna may also mean ‘wing’, as a symbol of speed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek korax (‘raven’) and gyps (‘vulture’), the former alluding to the raven-black plumage of this bird. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘clothed in mourning’, derived from ater (‘black’). Very black indeed!

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Latin word for a yellowish bird, mentioned in Biblia Vulgata, a Latin translation of the Bible from the late 4th Century. The word was derived from Ancient Greek kharadrios, a bird found in river valleys, from kharadra (‘ravine’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘dove-like’, derived from columba (‘dove’).

 

The common name alludes to the bird lacking the scaled appearance of the common ground-dove (C. passerina).

 

 

 

 

 

A large number of species are described on the page Animals – Birds: Corvids.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kalos (‘beautiful’), and kitta, which originally was the name of the jay (Garrulus glandarius), but in this connection means ‘magpie’.

 

This noisy bird often travels about in flocks. The specific name is Latin, like the generic name meaning ‘beautiful’. Well, it is indeed a very pretty bird, with a prominent curved black-and-white crest on the crown, blue wings and upper tail, and a pure white underside with a thin dark-blue line, running from the nape across the upper breast.

 

 

 

 

 

The plumage varies geographically. Northern birds are dark brown on the upper parts, lighter brown on the underparts (hence the name of the bird), whereas southern birds are white-bellied, with white tips to the outer tail feathers. Intermediate forms occur around the Vera Cruz area in Mexico.

Adults have black bills, legs, and feet. It has a naked inflatable sac on the chest, which presumably regulates its body temperature, but it also produces strange clicking or hiccuping sounds, when the bird is calling.

Superficially, birds of southern populations resemble the common magpie (Pica pica), but are slightly smaller, with a shorter tail, but a larger bill.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek psilos (‘tall’ or ‘thin’) and rhinos (‘nose’), presumably alluding to the compressed, tall bill of this bird. The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek moros (‘fool’), maybe referring to the strange sounds that the bird emits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in 1786 without explanation by German naturalist Blasius Merrem (1761-1824). It may be derived from the Latin pene (‘almost’) and Ancient Greek lophos (‘crest’), alluding to the partial crest of the Marail guan (P. marail), or it may refer to Penelope, a princess in Greek mythology, the unfaithful wife of King Ulysses of Ithaca.

The common name is a Spanish corruption of the Kuna name for these birds, kwama.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘purplish’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These large, black birds are characterized by their huge, compressed bill and the long tail. They are very gregarious, mostly observed in noisy groups. Unlike most cuckoos, they are not brood parasites, but nest communally, several pairs building a nest, in which the females lay their eggs and then share incubation and feeding the young.

The generic name, introduced in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), is derived from Ancient Greek kroton (‘tick’) and ephagon (‘to eat’). Linnaeus cited Irish physician and naturalist Patrick Browne (1720-1790), who, in his The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica (1756) used the name Crotophaga, remarking that smooth-billed anis “live chiefly upon ticks and other small vermin, and may be frequently seen jumping about on cows and oxen in the fields.”

The common name was possibly the name of these birds in the Brazilian Tupi language.

 

A common bird, living in shrubberies and open country, including farmland. It is increasing, greatly benefited from the ubiquitous deforestation.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin sulcus (‘furrow’) and rostrum (‘bill’).

 

 

 

 

 

Genetic research has shown that these birds are not closely related to raptors of the family Accipitridae. Their similar feeding habits are an example of convergent evolution.

 

It has a huge distribution area, found from southern Arizona, Texas, Florida, and Cuba southwards through Mexico and Central America to Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. It is divided into two subspecies, plancus, which is found from Peru and northern Brazil southwards, and the northern cheriway. For a period of time, they were regarded as separate species.

As opposed to typical falcons, this bird often walks on the ground, searching for prey.

The generic name is the Brazilian Tupi name of this bird, meaning ‘shrieker’, alluding to its call, a rattling sound, similar to running a stick along a fence. The specific name is a Latinized version of Ancient Greek plangos (‘eagle’), alluding to its eagle-like appearance.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek herpeton (‘reptile’) and theras (‘hunter’), alluding to its favourite food. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘laughing’, referring to its loud call.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin milvus (‘kite’) and the suffix ago (‘resembling’).

 

The specific name is a local Argentinian onomatopoeia (a word imitating the call of this bird).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When describing a specimen in 1667, French naturalist Jean-Baptiste du Tertre (1610-1687) called it la frégate, which was French mariners’ name for the bird. A frigate is a type of fast warship, and the name may have been inspired by the fast and elegant flight of these birds. The English term frigatebird was first used in 1738 by English naturalist and illustrator Eleazar Albin (c. 1690-1742) in his book A Natural History of the Birds.

In the Caribbean, frigatebirds were called Man-of-War birds by English mariners. This name was used by English explorer, navigator, and naturalist William Dampier (1651-1715) in his book An Account of a New Voyage Around the World (1697). He writes: “The Man-of-War (as it is called by the English) is about the bigness of a Kite, and in shape like it, but black; and the neck is red. It lives on Fish yet never lights on the water, but soars aloft like a Kite, and when it sees its prey, it flys down head foremost to the Waters edge, very swiftly takes its prey out of the Sea with his Bill, and immediately mounts again as swiftly; never touching the Water with his Bill. His Wings are very long; his feet are like other Land-fowl, and he builds on Trees, where he finds any; but where they are wanting on the ground.“

 

When passing the Cape Verde Islands on his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492, explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) encountered this bird, using the term rabiforçado (‘forktail’) for it. His journal was cited in the 1530s by Spanish friar Bartolomé de las Casas (1484-1566): “They saw a bird that is called rabiforçado, which makes the boobies throw up what they eat in order to eat it herself, and she does not sustain herself on anything else. It is a seabird, but does not alight on the sea nor depart from land 20 leagues [about 100 km]. There are many of these on the islands of Cape Verde.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These birds nest in various cavities, in river banks and buildings, or in old woodpecker holes.

The generic name is taken from the Greek mythology. Procne was a princess, married to King Tereus of Thrace. However, Tereus lusted after her beautiful younger sister Philomela, locked her away, and raped her. Philomela threatened to tell everybody about his conduct, and to prevent her from doing so he cut off her tongue.

When Procne discovered her sister’s awful fate, she took revenge against her husband by murdering their only child, a young boy named Itys, cooked him, and served him as a meal to her husband.

Finishing his meal, Tereus asked where his son was, and Procne told him the truth, hurling the son’s head in his face. Enraged, he grabbed his sword and ran after the fleeing women to kill them. The gods noticed what was going on and transformed them into birds, Tereus to a hoopoe, and the women to a nightingale and a swallow. Greek sources claim that Procne became the nightingale and Philomela the swallow, whereas Roman authors tend to maintain the opposite.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘steel-coloured’, alluding to the steel-blue colour on its back.

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the names blackbird and oriole, these birds are not closely related to the Old World blackbird (Turdus merula) or the Old World orioles (Oriolus). These two groups were named by early settlers due to their resemblance to the Old World birds.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek ikteros (‘jaundice-yellow’), originally the name of a yellow bird, perhaps the golden oriole (Oriolus oriolus), the sight of which was said to cure jaundice.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin pustula (‘pimple’), perhaps alluding to the dark spots on the back.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek psar (‘starling’) and koloios (‘jackdaw’). Apparently, German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler (1800-1832), when he introduced the genus in 1827, found that these birds looked like a mixture of a starling and a jackdaw.

Wagler died young, as he accidentally shot himself while on a collecting trip near München in 1832.

 

The specific name refers to Aztec Emperor Montezuma Xocoyotzin (1480-1520), who was killed by his own subjects. They were enraged at his support to the Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernán Cortés (1485-1547).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was taken from the specific name of Gracula quiscula, applied in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) to the common grackle, today called Quiscalus quiscula. It may be a Carib word, Quisqueya (‘the mother of all lands’), alluding to the island of Hispaniola, or it may stem from the Castilian quisquilla, which means ‘a trifling dispute’, referring to the noisy behaviour of these birds.

The common name stems from the old English word gracule, which can be traced back to 1772. It is an Anglizised form of the Latin word graculus, the name of an unidentified bird, which later authors identified as the jackdaw (Coloeus monedula). To me, grackles do not at all resemble the jackdaw!

 

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacana was the spelling that Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) used when he named the wattled jacana Parra jacana in 1766. The original Portuguese spelling was jaçana (pronounced approximately zasana), which was derived from a local Tupi name of the bird, ñahana.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘prickly’, alluding to a yellow spine on the wing edge, which is used to defend themselves and their chicks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many members are described on the page Animals – Birds: Gulls.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek leukos (‘white’) and phaios (‘dusky’), alluding to the dark plumage of most species, and to the white crescent above and below the eyes.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin atra (‘black’) and cilla (‘tail’). This is puzzling, as the laughing gull has a white tail. According to the Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), when naming the bird, may have intended to write atricapilla (‘black-haired’), alluding to its black head in the breeding plumage.

The common name refers to its call.

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

Friedrich Boie described many new species and several new genera of birds. He and his brother Heinrich also described about 50 new species of reptiles.

The generic name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘fisherman’, ultimately from thalassa (‘sea’).

 

Cabot’s tern is divided into 2 subspecies, breeding on the Atlantic Coast from Delaware southwards, around the Gulf of Mexico to Belize, on the Bahamas and many Caribbean islands, and from northern South America southwards along the Atlantic coast to northern Argentina. Northern populations are migratory. It is a common winter visitor to the Pacific coast, from south-eastern Mexico southwards to Peru.

The specific name is derived from the Latin acus (‘needle’) and flavidus (‘yellowish’), alluding to the yellow point on the long, sharp bill. The common name refers to American physician and ornithologist Samuel Cabot III (1815-1885), who described the species in 1847, based on a skin collected in the Yucatan Peninsula.

 

 

 

 

 

The northernmost populations are migratory. It is a common winter visitor along the coasts of Mexico and Central America, and also along the entire Brazilian coast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name refers to Pandion, a mythical king of Athens. However, there were two kings with that name in Athens. They were frequently confused by later authors, but neither was ever metamorphosed into a bird of prey. Pandion II had four children, one of whom, Nisus of Megara, was transformed into a hawk. This metamorphosis, which is related in detail under Micronisus gabar (on the page Birds in Africa), was probably what French naturalist Marie Jules César Lelorgne de Savigny (1777-1851) had in mind, when he moved the osprey to a separate genus in 1809.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek hals (‘sea’) and aetos (‘eagle’).

The name osprey was first recorded around 1460, a corruption of the Latin avis praedae (‘bird of prey’).

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

For many years, they were placed with the Old World buntings in the family Emberizidae, but genetic research has shown that they form a monophyletic group of uncertain relationship with the buntings, and the family Passerellidae has been erected, originally established in 1851 as a subfamily, Passerellinae, by German ornithologist Jean Louis Cabanis (1816-1906).

New World sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, comprising about 138 species in 30 genera, including some genera, which were formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae, below).

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek zone (‘band’) and thrix (‘hair’), alluding to the boldly streaked crown of most of the species.

 

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in Chile.

 

 

 

 

 

Formerly, it was presumed that the gular sac was a means to store food for several days, but this is not the case. This belief was the cause of a funny limerick, written in 1910 by American poet Dixon Lanier Merritt (1879-1972):

 

 

However, recent DNA research has revealed that the 5 Old World species (great white, Dalmatian, pink-backed, spot-billed, and Australian) form one lineage, whereas the American white, the brown, and the Peruvian form another. The great white was the first to diverge from the common ancestor, which suggests that pelicans evolved in the Old World and later spread into the Americas.

Traditionally, pelicans were thought to be related to cormorants, darters, gannets, frigatebirds, and tropicbirds, but genetic research has shown that they form an order, Pelecaniformes, together with herons, the hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), and the shoebill (Balaeniceps rex).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘western’, derived from occidens (‘west’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Greek word for the helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris). In his book The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names (2010), James Jobling writes: “The names Turkeycock and Turkeyhen were used for guineafowl in the 16th and early 17th Centuries, because they were brought from Africa to Europe through the Ottoman or Turkish dominions, and by this confusion Linnaeus used the generic term Meleagris for the American turkey (M. gallopavo), which was unknown to the ancients. When the guineafowl and turkey were subsequently distinguished as separate species, turkey was erroneously retained for the American bird.”

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘marked with small eyes’, derived from ocellus (‘small eye’), diminutive of oculus (‘eye’). The name refers to the pattern at the end of the tail feathers, which have been likened to the ‘eyes’ on the tail feathers of the peacock (Pavo cristatus).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kampe (‘caterpillar’) and philos (‘loving’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, the family Psittacidae has two subfamilies, African parrots (Psittacinae) with 2 genera and about 12 species, and American parrots (Arinae), with 32 genera and about 150 species.

 

The generic name was adapted from the French name amazone, given to various parrots from the Amazonian rainforests by French naturalist and mathematician Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788).

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin aurum (‘gold’) and pallium (‘mantle’), alluding to the yellow nape.

 

 

 

 

 

It has established feral populations in several Californian cities, and a pair breeding in the outskirts of San Salvador in 1995 and 1996 was possibly also feral birds.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘of the autumn’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is onomatopoetic, the word for macaws in the Brazilian Tupi language. The common name is used for several genera of larger parrots. It stems from Portuguese macau, which was taken from a word in a Brazilian language, perhaps the Tupi word macavuana, which may be the name of a palm species, whose fruits formed part of the diet of macaws.

 

It is the national bird of Honduras.

The specific name is explained above, under genus.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name combines the Ancient Greek eu (‘good’) with the Latin psittula (‘small parrot’). The alternative common name is derived from the Latin conurus, originally from Ancient Greek konos (‘cone’) and oura (‘tail’), thus ‘with a cone-shaped tail’.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘of Canicula’ (the Dog Star or Sirius), a very bright star in the constellation of Canis Major (‘Larger Dog’). What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name combines another generic name, Aramus (the limpkin, which is presented on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada), and Ancient Greek oides (‘resembling’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white-bellied’, derived from albus (‘white’) and ventris (‘belly’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek pteron (‘feather’) and glossa (‘tongue’), alluding to the very long tongue of these birds, which looks like a feather.

The common name is the Portuguese spelling of the Tupi word arassari (‘little bright bird’), a name given to the black-necked araçari (P. aracari).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘collared’, derived from torques (‘collar’), presumably alluding to the black ‘collar’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name takes some explanation. Originally, in his Historiæ animalium, Liber III, published in 1555, Swiss physician and naturalist Conrad Gessner (1516-1565) called toucans Ramphestes, which means ‘snouted’ in Ancient Greek, derived from rhamphos (‘bill’). However, this name was misspelt by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605) in his work Ornithologia (1599-1603). Aldrovandi’s name was subsequently adopted by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who claimed that the word meant ‘a broad sword’, alluding to the form of the bill of these birds.

The common name is derived from the Tupi word tukan, which is an imitation of the call of one of the species.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sulpher-coloured’, referring to the colour on the neck and upper breast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek aktites (‘living on the coast’), from akte (‘coast’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘spotted’, referring to the dark spots on the underside in the breeding plumage.

 

 

 

 

 

Recent genetic studies have greatly re-arranged this family. A number of species formerly placed in the family have been moved to other families, but the opposite has also taken place.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kyanos (‘dark-blue’) and herpes (‘creeper’).

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek kyanos (‘dark-blue’) – certainly very blue indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek rhamphos (‘bill’) and koilos (‘concave’), referring to the concave bill of some species.

 

The specific name honours Italian naturalist Carlo Passerini (1793-1857), curator of the Royal Natural History Museum in Florence.

Previously, birds in Costa Rica and Panama were regarded as a separate species, Cherrie’s tanager (R. costaricensis).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek sporos (‘seed’) and philos (‘to love’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘raven-like’, alluding to the mainly raven-black plumage of the male.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name refers to an unidentified small bird, perhaps some kind of finch, mentioned by Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘bishop’, referring to the blue plumage. Bishops wear a blue or purple dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek eudokimos (‘glorious’), originally from eu (‘good’) and dokimos (‘excellent’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’.

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name stems from the Greek mythology. The name tityri was applied to the satyrs and other raucous companions of Pan and Bacchus, referring to the noisy, aggressive behaviour of tityras.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin semi (‘half’) and fascia (‘band’), probably alluding to the facial mask being only half a collar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kampylos (‘curved’) and rhynkhos (‘bill’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘haltered’. It may refer to the conspicuous black line from the bill through the eye.

Previously, this bird was regarded as a subspecies of the rufous-naped wren (C. rufinucha), but that species has been split into 3 species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘one who dwells in holes’, referring to the nest of these birds, which is almost circular, with a small entrance hole.

 

The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin mus (‘mouse’), thus ‘litte mouse’, referring to its tiny size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek pharos (‘mantle’) and makros (‘long’), alluding to the wing and tail coverts of the resplendent quetzal (below). The second h is probably a writing mistake.

The common name is derived from the Nahuatl word quetzalli (‘large brilliant tail feather’), originally from quetz (‘to stand up’), alluding to an erect plume of feathers. Previously, the word quetzal was only used for the resplendent quetzal.

 

The specific name was given in honour of Mexican naturalist José Mariano Mociño Suárez Lozano (1757-1820), who conducted research on botany, geology, and anthropology.

The story behind the rather poor picture below is this: I went to the protected area Biotopo del Quetzal, near Salamá, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, where I stayed at a small lodge at the road side. During the following days, I roamed the cloud forest, hoping to observe the resplendent quetzal. The vegetation in this forest was indeed lush, the huge trees festooned with epiphytes, including mosses, lichens, ferns, and various seed plants, mostly bromeliads, of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), and orchids.

I observed very few birds in the forest, and no quetzal. On my last day in the area, I returned to the lodge, rather disappointed that I didn’t succeed in observing this enigmatic bird. I took my seat at one of the outdoor tables to enjoy a cup of coffee, when the lodge owner, who was fiddling with something in his car engine, pointed to a group of trees, uttering only one word: “Quetzal!”

There, high up in a tree, sat a gorgeous male resplendent quetzal, and, what was more important, it was not moving. Here was my chance to get photographs! I sneaked closer to the tree, but from this angle a photograph of the bird was not possible. I would have to do with pictures from the road, far away or not.

Now, however, another problem occurred. The wife of the lodge owner was cooking lunch, and smoke from the cooking drifted past the tree, where the bird was sitting, making my pictures hazy. I had to wait for breaks in the puffs of smoke to take my pictures, but luckily the quetzal was still not moving. Trogons are rather lethargic birds.

Finally, I managed to get a few photographs, but definitely nothing to bragg about!

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek trogo (‘to chew’ or ‘to gnaw’). Trogons nest in cavities, which they themselves gnaw into rotting wood or termite nests, one species even nesting in wasps’ nests.

 

The specific name honours French ornithologist François Victor Masséna, 2nd Duke of Rivoli and 3rd Prince of Essling (1799-1863), who had accumulated a bird collection of 12,500 specimens, which later ended up in the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

 

 

 

 

 

The tyrant part of the name of these birds goes back to English naturalist Mark Catesby (1683-1749) who studied flora and fauna in the New World. He labeled the eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) a tyrant due to its aggressive behaviour, and this name was adopted by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), when he classified this group of birds. He greatly acknowledged Catesby’s work, so he named the family Tyrannidae.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek megas (‘large’) and rhynkhos (‘bill’), whereas the specific name is derived from the Tupi name pitanguá guacú for a large flycatcher, perhaps this species.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek myias (‘fly’) and zetetes (‘one that searches’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘the similar one’, indicating its similarity to several other members of the tyrant flycatcher family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is explained above under family name. Like the common name it refers to the aggressive behaviour shown by kingbirds towards each other and also towards other species. When defending their nest they will often attack predators larger than themselves, including hawks, crows, and squirrels.

 

The specific name also refers to the tail, derived from the Latin forficis (‘a pair of scissors’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘bad-tempered’, presumably alluding to the aggressive behaviour of this bird when defending its nest.