Birds in the Pacific States

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information about etymology is often based on J.A. Jobling, The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, Christopher Helm, London, 2010.

In case you encounter any errors on this page, I would be grateful to hear about it. You can use the address at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘lined’, alluding to the white horizontal stripes on the rufous breast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winter months are spent in the southern half of North America, in Central America and the Caribbean, in the major part of Europe and the Middle East, in northern and eastern Africa, and in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, southern China, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sharp-pointed’, alluding to the pointed tail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The white-fronted goose is divided into five subspecies, breeding along the entire northern Siberian coastal areas, in Alaska and northern Canada, and western Greenland. The wintering areas include northern Ireland, northern Scotland, Holland, northern Germany, Hungary, the northern Black Sea coast, Iraq, the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, Japan, Korea, south-eastern China, southern United States, and northern Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

The snow goose is mainly a bird of the New World, breeding in northern Canada and Alaska, with small populations in Greenland and north-eastern Siberia. It spends the winter along the Pacific coast, from southern British Columbia southwards, and also in southern United States and Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

It was named in honour of Bernard R. Ross (1827-1874), who worked for the Hudson Bay Company in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized form of brandgás (‘burnt goose’), the Old Norse name of the brent goose (Branta bernicla), referring to the mainly black plumage of this species. In English, ‘burnt’ became ‘brent’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized form of the Greek kyknos (‘swan’).

 

Some authorities regard the two subspecies as separate species. They differ in bill colour, Bewick’s swan having a large patch of yellow skin at the base of the bill, wheareas the whistling swan has dark skin with only a small yellow spot at the base.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is from a Brazilian-Portuguese word, marréco, meaning ‘small duck’.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘noisy’ – a strange name for this bird, which is not very noisy.

 

 

 

 

 

Stiff-tailed ducks are found across large parts of the globe, with 3 species in the Americas, one in Africa, one in southern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, and one in Australia.

 

It has been introduced to several places in Europe, where it is regarded as an invasive species that competes with local ducks. In southern Europe, it interbreeds with the rare white-headed duck (O. leucocephala), polluting the gene pool. Efforts have been made to eradicate the ruddy duck from Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Latin word for ‘spoon’ or ‘spatula’, alluding to the spatulate bill of shovelers.

 

The winter months are spent in the southern half of North America, in Central America and the Caribbean, in the major part of Europe and the Middle East, in northern and eastern Africa, and in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, southern China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘shield-bearing’, alluding to the broad and flat bill.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek erodios, the classical name of herons.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘golden’, presumably alluding to the sometimes yellowish head of the two other members of the genus. Once upon a time, they were probably all regarded as a single species. The head of the turkey vulture is always red, similar to the colour of the head of the male turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 common name is an imitation of its call. The specific name also refers to the call, derived from the Latin vox (‘cry’) and ferre (‘to bear’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek patageo (‘to clatter’) and oinas (‘pigeon’). Presumably, the name alludes to the wing-clapping of several pigeons when taking off.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘banded’, like the common name alluding to a dark band across the centre of the tail, dividing it into a dark grey base and a pale grey outher half.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was introduced in 1838 by French ornithologist Charles Bonaparte (1803-1857), 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano, in honour of his wife Zénaïde (1801-1854).

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek makros (‘long’) and oura (‘tail’), referring to the long tail of this bird. The common name refers to its call, which sounds rather mournful.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek apheles (‘naïve’, but in this connection translated as ‘simple’) and kome (‘well-tended hair’), given in allusion to the lack of stripes or bands on these birds, compared to other jays.

 

This bird was once lumped with 3 other species, collectively simply called the scrub jay. Then two populations were split to form separate species, the Florida scrub jay (A. coerulescens), which lives in Florida, and the island scrub jay (A. insularis), which is confined to Santa Cruz island off the Californian coast. The remaining populations were now called western scrub jay. Later, the inland populations were split to form a new species, Woodhouse’s scrub jay (A. woodhouseii), whereas the coastal populations were named California scrub jay.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the common raven (C. corax).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is a Latinized form of the Greek korax, meaning ‘raven’ or ‘crow’. The English name derives from Old Norse hrafn, ultimately from Proto-Germanic khrabanas.

Due to its intelligent behaviour, the raven appears in numerous mythologies. In Norse mythology, the ravens Hugin (‘thought’) and Munin (‘memory’) were the servants of the supreme god Odin, bringing news to him from all over the world. The raven figured on banners of Norse kings like Cnut the Great and Harald Hardrada.

The raven was also an important bird to the Celts. According to Irish mythology, the goddess Morrígan alighted on the hero Cú Chulainn’s shoulder in the form of a raven after his death. In Welsh mythology, the name of the god Bran Fendigaid (in English called ‘Bran the Blessed’) means ‘raven’, and the bird was his symbol.

Among a number of peoples in Siberia, north-eastern Asia, and North America, the raven was regarded as a creator god. To the Tlingit and Haida peoples of Pacific North America, it was also a trickster.

Genesis 8: 6-7 says, “So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark, which he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro, until the waters had dried up from the earth.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kyanos (‘dark blue’) and kitta (‘jay’), alluding to their predominant colour.

 

The specific and common names commemorate German naturalist and explorer Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709-1746), born Stöhler, who participated in the Russian Great Northern Expedition (1733-1743), also known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition, led by Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering (1681-1741). Steller is considered a pioneer of Alaskan natural history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most important food item for these birds are seeds of various pines (Pinus), which they break open with their powerful bill. This fact is reflected by the generic name, which is derived from the Latin nuci (‘nut’) and frango (‘to break’).

When pine nuts are abundant, they make caches of surplus seeds, storing as many as 30,000 in a single season. They are able to remember the location of as many as about 70% of their stash, even when buried in snow. They often store the nuts far away from where they were collected, and are thus important in re-establishing forests in logged or burned areas. (Source: D.F. Tomback 2016, in Why birds matter: avian ecological function and ecosystem services, edited by Sekercioglu, Wenny & Whelan, University of Chicago Press)

In regions without pine trees, seeds of spruce (Picea) and hazelnuts (Corylus) form an important part of the diet.

 

This bird was described by Captain Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) during the Lewis and Clark expedition 1803-1806. The first observation was done by Captain William Clark (1770-1838) in 1805 along the banks of the Salmon River, a tributary of the Columbia River – hence the specific name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This bird is known by several popular names, including whisky jack, which is a corruption of Wisakedjak, a benevolent trickster and cultural hero in Cree, Algonquin, and Menominee mythologies. Among the Tlingit people of north-western North America it is known as kooyéix or taatl’eeshdéi, meaning ‘camp robber’, alluding to its tameness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek haima (‘blood’) and orrhos (‘rump’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘thorn’. Originally, the word was applied by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), as Carduelis spinus, to the Eurasian siskin, presumably due to its very fine and pointed bill, an adaptation to eat the small seeds of alders (Alnus).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sad’ or ‘gloomy’. Why this name was applied to this beautiful bird, is incomprehensible.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Latin word for some unidentified seabird.

 

In winter, American birds are found along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, ranging as far south as central Mexico on the Pacific side, and Texas on the Atlantic side. North Atlantic birds spend the winter around Iceland and along coasts of northern and western Europe, as far south as Portugal.

The specific name is the Norwegian name for the common loon. It is perhaps originally a Norse word, as the Icelandic name of the bird is himbrimi (‘surf roarer’). Icelandic names are often much closer to the original Norse words than the Scandinavian names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Greek mythology, Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus.

 

Today, five subspecies are recognized: canadensis, which breeds in eastern Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada. It is the most abundant of the subspecies, comprising about 500,000 birds; tabida, which breeds in southern Canada, and northern and western U.S.; pratensis, which is found in Florida and the southernmost part of Georgia; pulla, which is restricted to the south-eastern corner of the state of Mississippi; and, finally, nesiotes, which is only found on Cuba. A sixth subspecies, rowani, is no longer accepted, and some authorities only acknowledge two subspecies, canadensis and tabida. The populations in Mississippi and on Cuba are very small and threatened with extinction.

Northern populations, including the Siberian breeding birds, spend the winter in south-western U.S. and Mexico, whereas the southern populations are resident.

The sandhill crane has spread considerably in Siberia in later years and is now a threat to many bird species by eating their eggs and young. This issue is described on the page Animals – Birds: Sandhill cranes – a threat to breeding birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek petros (‘rock’) and khelidon (‘swallow’), alluding to a type of swallow building its nest on rocks.

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek pyrrhos (‘flame-coloured’) and notos (‘-backed’), but the bird was originally described as golondrina rabadilla acanelada (‘swallow with cinnamon-coloured rump’) by Félix de Azara (1746-1821), who was a member of a delegation that was sent to the Río de la Plata region in 1777 to negotiate the border dispute between the Portuguese and Spanish colonies. de Azara ended up spending about 20 years in the area, until 1801. He drew an accurate map of the region, and also began studying birds and mammals, of which he described many new species.

 

 

 

 

 

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 family 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 generic name is a Latinized version of Ancient Greek agelaios, meaning ‘gregarious’.

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek phoinikeos (‘crimson’), referring to the red tuft on the wing of the male.

The tricolored blackbird (A. tricolor), which is distributed from northern California southwards to northern Baja California, is very similar, but has a white, not yellow wingpatch.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek eu (‘good’) and phagos (‘eating’). What it refers to is not known.

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek kyanos (‘dark-blue’) and kephale (‘head’). The male has a purplish-blue head. The common name honours American naturalist Thomas Mayo Brewer (1814-1880).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic and specific names are derived from Ancient Greek xanthos (’yellow’) and kephale (’head’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek khroizo (‘to colour’) and kephale (‘head’), alluding to the dark head of many of the species in the breeding season.

 

The common name honours French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1803-1857), 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano, who spent four years in the United States, updating Alexander Wilson’s Ornithology or History of the Birds of the United States.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Greek, meaning ‘water-swallow’, alluding to the graceful flight of most terns. However, I must say that the name is not very well chosen for the Caspian tern, which is probably the least swallow-like among terns!

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized version of the Greek laros, the classical name for a kind of seabird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name refers to the Delaware River. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek glaukos (‘blue-grey’), alluding to the wing colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name honours explorer and naturalist Adolphus Lewis Heermann (1821-1865), who travelled throughout the United States, collecting birds, fishes, reptiles, and plants.

 

 

 

 

 

It is a large bird, to 68 cm long and weighing up to 1.4 kg. It is divided into two subspecies. The northern nominate race, found from central California northwards, has paler wing colour and darker eye colour than the southern subspecies wymani. In central and northern California, you may encounter both subspecies.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek oros (‘mountain’) and skoptes (‘one who mocks’).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek toxon (‘arch’) and stoma (‘mouth’), alluding to the curved bill of these birds.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘reinstated’ or ‘renovated’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kallos (‘beauty’) and peplos (‘robe’), alluding to the ornate plumage of these birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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).

 

It is distributed from southern Washington and souther Idaho southwards to Baja California and central Mexico. Most populations in the United States are migratory.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek amphi (‘around’) and spiza (‘finch’), alluding to its similarity to finches. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘double-striped’, referring to the two white stripes on the side of the head.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek khondros (‘coarse grain’) and edo (‘to eat’). The specific name, which should be spelled grammicus, is Latin, meaning ‘lined’, referring to the many stripes on this bird, either in the head or on the back.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Spanish, derived from the Latin iuncus, meaning ‘reed’ or ‘rush’. Originally, junco was the name of the reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus). Why it was applied to these birds is not clear.

 

The specific name is a form of the Latin hiemalis (‘of the winter’). Originally, in 1731, English naturalist Mark Catesby (1683-1749), who studied flora and fauna in the New World, called this species ‘snow-bird’, naming it Passer nivalis (‘snow-sparrow’).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek melos (‘song’) and spiza (‘finch’).

 

It lives in a variety of habitats, but tends to favour marshes.

The specific name is Greek, meaning ‘singing’. All its names refer to its varied and melodious song.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek melas (‘black’) and zone (‘belt’). It may refer to the black stripe on the cheek of Prevost’s ground sparrow (M. biarcuata).

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin crissum (‘vent’), alluding to the reddish-brown vent of this otherwise brown bird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘to chirp’. The common name is an imitation of the call of the eastern towhee (P. erythrophthalmus).

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek khloros (‘green’) and oura (‘tail’).

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘spotted’, alluding to the white spots on the back.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a diminutive of Ancient Greek spiza (‘finch’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sparrow-like’.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek leukos (‘white’) and ophrys (‘eyebrow’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 derived from Ancient Greek erythros (‘red’) and rhynkhos (‘bill’). The bill of most birds is yellow, but may occasionally have a reddish tinge, as seen in some individuals in the pictures below.

 

 

 

 

 

Numerous cormorant species are presented on the pages Fishing, and Silhouettes.

 

These birds were previously included in the genus Phalacrocorax.

The generic name is adapted from the Russian common name for the red-faced cormorant (Urile urile).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with brush-like tufts’. In the breeding plumage, this bird has white ear-tufts.

The common name commemorates Prussian zoologist Johann Friedrich von Brandt (1802-1879), who worked in the Russian service, and also explored Siberia. He described this cormorant in 1838, based on a skin in the collection of the Zoological Museum at St. Petersburg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a combination of the original genus name for grouse, Canace, introduced in 1852 by German botanist and ornithologist Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (1793-1879), derived from Ancient Greek kanacheo (‘to make noise’), and –ites, an adjective-forming suffix, thus ‘of grouse’ or ‘resembling a grouse’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was introduced in 1832 by English ornithologist William John Swainson (1789-1855), for the red-headed woodpecker (M. erythrocephalus). It is derived from Ancient Greek melas (‘black’) and herpo (‘to creep’).

 

Despite its preference for acorns, the specific name of this bird means ‘ant-eater’ in the Latin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek aikhme (‘spear’) and phero (‘to carry’), alluding to the long, sharp bill of these birds.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin podicis (‘vent’) and pes (‘foot’), referring to the legs being placed at the rear end of the body of these birds.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin niger (‘black’) and collum (‘neck’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek phaeinos (‘brilliant’, ‘shining’) and peplos (‘cloak’), alluding to the plumage of the male. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘shining’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for coot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first part of the generic name is from the Latin amentum, a leather strap, which was attached to a javelin, used in ancient Greek athletics, hunting, and warfare. This strap helped to increase the range and stability of the javelin in flight. (Source: E. Gardiner 1907. Throwing the Javelin. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 27: 249-273)

The second part of the name is from the Greek pous (‘foot’). Thus, Himantopus may be translated as ‘strap-leg’, which of course refers to the very long, thin legs of these birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin recurvus (‘curved backwards’) and rostrum (‘bill’), referring to the up-curved bill of these birds, an adaptation to ‘skim’ the surface of the water in search of tiny animals. The common name probably derives from an old Italian word, avosetta, which, allegedly, was the name of the pied avocet (R. avosetta).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It breeds in coniferous forests of Alaska and Canada and in montane areas of north-western United States, spending the winter in south-western Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek korthilos, a small, wren-like bird mentioned by Greek grammarian Hesychius of Alexandria (5th or 6th Century A.D.). The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin calandra (‘lark’). What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin arena (‘sand’), thus ‘the one living in sand’. The English name refers to a feeding habit of these birds, flipping over sea shells and pebbles to search for small invertebrates.

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek melas (‘black’) and kephale (‘head’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kalidris, a term used by Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) for some grey-coloured water bird.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’, referring to its white winter plumage. The popular name is derived from Old English sand-yrðling (‘sand-ploughman’), referring to its feeding habit, running along sandy shores while constantly sinking its bill into the sand in search of food.

 

 

 

 

 

In Latin, the specific name means ‘very small’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek limne (‘marsh’) and dromos (‘runner’). The common name is a corruption of an Iroquois word, recorded in the 1830s.

 

 

The specific name means ‘grey’ in Latin. The specimen described must have been in winter plumage.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘muddy’.

 

The specific name is alledgedly an Old English name for the godwit.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized form of the classical Greek name of these birds, noumenios. Both common English names are imitative, whimbrel imitating the trilling call of both whimbrels, curlew the call of the Eurasian curlew (N. arquata). The latter was first recorded by William Langland (1332-1386) in Piers Plowman, from the 1370s: “Fissch to lyue in þe flode..Þe corlue by kynde of þe eyre.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was applied to the green sandpiper (T. ochropus) by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1599), who was the founder of the botanical garden of Bologna – one of the first of its kind. The name is derived from the Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, tail-bobbing wading bird, mentioned by Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.).

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin semi (‘half’) and palmatus (‘like a hand’), referring to its partly webbed feet. The common name is onomatopoeic, alluding to its territorial song, a loud, piercing pill-will-willet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is probably from the Greek kalyptre (a woman’s veil or head-dress), from kalypto (‘to cover’), alluding to the glittering, purple-violet crown and elongated gorget of the male Costa’s hummingbird (C. costae).

 

The specific name refers to Anne Debelle (1802-1887), a French courtier, who served as Grand-Maitresse (‘Mistress of the Robes’) to Empress Eugénie de Montijo. Anne Debelle married ornithologist François Victor Masséna, 2nd Duke of Rivoli and 3rd Prince d’Essling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

The cactus wren often builds its nest among the vicious thorns of species of cholla cactus (Cylindropuntia), where it is well protected against enemies.

The specific name is derived from the Latin brunneus (‘brown’) and capillus (‘hair’), alluding to the brown cap of this bird.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from salpinktes, the Ancient Greek word for wrens, whereas the specific name is Latin, meaning ‘plain’, alluding to the lack of colours in the plumage of this bird.

 

 

 

 

 

The word thrush is derived from Old English throstle, from Proto-Germanic þrustlō, an ancient name for the song thrush (Turdus philomelos). In Old Saxon, þrustlō became throsla, in German Drossel. The latter name was adopted by the Danes, whereas the Swedes use the name trast for these birds, and the Norwegians trost.

A number of thrush species are dealt with on the page Animals – Birds: Thrushes.

 

 

The American robin is regarded as a symbol of spring. The poem The First Robin, by Canadian poet William Henry Drummond (1854-1907), is based on a Quebec superstition that whoever sees the first robin of spring will have good luck.

This bird was named robin by early settlers, as its reddish-orange breast reminded them of the European robin (Erithacus rubecula).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tyrant part of their name 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’, and this name was adopted by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), when he was classifying this group of birds. He greatly acknowledged Catesby’s work, so he named the family Tyrannidae.

 

The generic name was given in honour of American entomologist and herpetologist Thomas Say (1787-1834), who also studied shells.

The common name is derived from Ancient Greek phoibos (‘bright’, ‘shining’). It is another name for Selene, goddess of the Moon, and also for Artemis, goddess of wilderness and wild animals, hunting, childbirth, and virginity, protector of young girls, and also bringer and reliever of disease in women.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘blackish’.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name honours Thomas Say (see generic name above).