by Stephen Moss
30 LETTERS: buff-breasted paradise kingfisher, greater necklaced laughingthrush, Middendorff’s grasshopper warbler, rufous-vented paradise flycatcher, Ruwenzori double-collared sunbird
31 LETTERS: Prigogine’s double-collared sunbird
SHORT (FEWER THAN 6 LETTERS)
5 LETTERS: besra, cutia, galah, ifrit, kamao, kikau, kioea, maleo, malia, twite, veery
4 LETTERS: dodo, huia, liwi, kagu, kaka, nene, omao, ruff, rook, smew, sora, weka
3 LETTERS: emu, kea, moa, tui
2 LETTERS: ou
NB: only standalone names acceptable: coot, shag, wren etc. are always qualified (e.g. Eurasian wren)
Parts of the Body in Bird Names
backed, banded, beaked, bearded, bellied, belted, billed, breasted, bridled, browed, capped, cheeked, chested, chinned, crested, collared, crowned, eared, eyed, faced, flanked, footed, fronted, headed, helmeted, hooded, horned, legged, lored, mandibled, mantled, masked, moustached, naped, necked, necklaced, plumed, ruffed, rumped, scarfed, shouldered, sided, spectacled, superciliaried, tailed, thighed, throated, tipped, toed, toothed, tufted, vented, webbed, whiskered, winged
Birds Named after States in the US
Arizona woodpecker
California condor, gnatcatcher, gull, quail, scrub jay, thrasher, towhee
Carolina chickadee, wren, parakeet
Connecticut warbler
Florida scrub jay
Hawaiian akepa, amakihi, coot, creeper, crow, duck, elepaio, hawk, petrel
Kentucky warbler
Louisiana waterthrush
Mississippi kite
Tennessee warbler
Virginia rail
Birds Named after Man-Made Objects
barn swallow, owl etc.
boat-billed heron
booted racket-tail
buttonquails
canvasback
fantails
gartered trogon
Gould’s jewelfront
helmeted woodpecker, hornbill, myna etc.
helmet-shrikes
house martin, finch, wren etc.
ladder-tailed nightjar
lancebills
lyre-tailed nightjar
mitred parakeet
needletails
ovenbird
pennant-winged nightjar
pin-tailed snipe, pintail
razorbill, razor-billed curassow
riflebirds
saddlebacks
saddle-billed stork
saw-wings
scimitarbills
scissor-tailed flycatcher, nightjar
scythebills
sheathbills
shoebill
shovel-billed kookaburra
sickle-winged guan
spadebills
spoonbills
spoon-billed sandpiper
standardwing
sword-billed hummingbird
tambourine dove
trainbearers
trumpeter swan, finch, hornbill etc.
umbrellabirds
whipbirds
wire-tailed swallow
yellow-scarfed tanager
yellowhammer
Birds Named after Elements, Compounds and Minerals
bronzed drongo
bronze mannikin
bronze-tailed peacock-pheasant
bronzewings
cobalt-winged parakeet
copper sunbird, seedeater, pheasant etc.
copper-rumped hummingbird
goldfinch
goldeneye
golden eagle, pheasant, weaver, sparrow, bush robin etc.
lead-coloured flycatcher
leaden antwren, honeyeater, flycatcher
metallic starling
metaltails
silver oriole, pheasant, teal
silver-beaked tanager
silverbills
silverbird
silvereye
silvery grebe, pigeon, kingfisher
steel-blue whydah, flycatcher
steely-vented hummingbird
Birds Named after Gems and Precious Stones
amethyst sunbird, starling, brown dove, woodstar
beryl-spangled tanager
berylline hummingbird
Brazilian ruby
crimson topaz
diamond firetail, dove
emeralds
emerald cuckoo, dove, starling, tanager
emerald-spotted wood dove
fiery topaz
garnet pitta, robin
garnet-throated hummingbird
opal-crowned tanager, manakin
pearl kite
pearl-breasted swallow, conebill
pearly-eyed thrasher
ruby-cheeked sunbird
ruby-crowned kinglet, tanager
ruby-throated hummingbird, myzomela, bulbul
ruby-topaz hummingbird
sapphire-throated hummingbird
sapphire quail-dove, flycatcher
sapphires
Siberian rubythroat
Politically Incorrect Names
dwarf bittern, tinamou, sparrowhawk, koel etc.
hottentot teal
kaffir rail
midget flowerpecker
negrito
negrofinch
oldsquaw
pygmy antwren, falcon, eagle etc.
Birds Named after Professions, Callings and Religious Orders
adjutants
apostlebird
bearded mountaineer
bishops
blacksmith plover
capuchinbird
cardinals
coppersmith barbet
friarbirds
lanceolated monklet
millerbird
miners
monk parakeet
nunbirds, nunlets
prothonotary warbler
purple grenadier
secretarybird
tailorbirds
tinkerbirds
tyrants
weavers
Bird Names derived from Mythology, Ancient Civilisations etc.
Aztec rail, thrush
Calliope hummingbird
Cinderella waxbill
eastern, Say’s and black Phoebe
Griffon vulture
Inca tern, flycatcher, dove, jay, wren
collared Inca
Lucifer hummingbird
Mayan antthrush
Mesopotamian crow
Montezuma quail, oropendola
Persian shearwater
Pharaoh eagle owl
Satanic nightjar
Stygian owl
Birds’ Names Including Other Animals’ Names (not including other birds)
antbirds, antpeckers, antpittas, antpipits, antshrikes, ant-tanagers, antthrushes, antvireos, antwrens
bat hawk, falcon
bee-eaters
buffalo weavers
bullfinches
catbirds
cattle egret
cicadabirds
cowbirds
fish crow, fish eagles, fish owls
flycatchers
frogmouths
fox sparrow, kestrel
lizard cuckoos
mousebirds
oxpeckers
rhinoceros auklet
snail kite
snake eagles
spiderhunters
squirrel cuckoo
tiger herons
Birds Named after Royalty and Nobility (in order of rank)
emperor penguin
imperial eagle, shag, snipe, pigeon, woodpecker, Amazon
monarchs
king vulture, eider, quail
kingbirds
kingfishers
Queen Carola’s parotia
Prince Ruspoli’s turaco
princess parrot
Princess Stephanie’s astrapia
duchess lorikeet
Lord Derby’s parakeet
Lord Howe woodhen, parakeet, ger
ygone
Lady Amherst’s pheasant
Thirty-three Amazing Names
bananaquit
bearded mountaineer
bokikokiko
bokmakierie
brownish twistwing
chuck-will’s-widow
crinkle-collared manucode
fasciated tiger-heron
firewood-gatherer
forty-spotted pardalote
giant cowbird
glowing puffleg
hardhead
horned screamer
kinglet calyptura
lachrymose mountain tanager
leaf-love
Luzon bleeding-heart
marvellous spatuletail
oleaginous hemispingus
pink-legged graveteiro
Rock-loving cisticola
scaly-throated leaftosser
screaming piha
sharp-tailed streamcreeper
shining sunbeam
strange-tailed tyrant
teardrop white-eye
Upper Magdalena tapaculo
vermiculated screech owl
whip-poor-will
zigzag heron
zitting cisticola
INDEX
Aberdeen, University of 1
accentor, hedge 1, 2, 3, 4 see also dunnock
Accipitriformes 1
Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden 1
Adolph, Peter 1
Africa and British Empire 1, 2, 3, 4
-Eurasian flyway 1
Afrikaans language 1
Age of Ornithological Discovery 1
Age of Reason/Enlightenment 1
agriculture modern 1, 2, 3
origins of 1, 2, 3, 4
Ahlquist, Jon E. 1, 2
Albert VII, Archduke of Austria 1
Allison, Malcolm 1
Amadon, Dean 1
American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) 1
American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) 1, 2
Amherst, Lady Sarah (née Archer) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Amherst, Lord William 1
‘Among the Ornithologists’ (Harrold) 1
Amundsen, Roald 1
Anas clypeata see shoveler A. platyrhynchos see mallard
Anglo-Saxon invasion 1, 2, 3, 4
language 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6n, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 see also English language, Old
Anser anser see goose, greylag
Antarctica 1, 2
Anthony, David 1
Anthus pratensis see pipit, meadow
antpitta, Jocotoco 1
antshrike Acre 1
fulvous 1
Appleton, Tim 1
Aptenodytes patagonicus see penguin, king
Archer, Sarah 1 see also Amherst, Lady Sarah
Arctic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 see also North-West Passage
Aristotle 1, 2
Audouin, Jean Victor 1
Audubon, John James 1, 2
Audubon to Xantus (Mearns & Mearns) 1
auk 1 great 1n 2n
Australia 1, 2, 3 First Fleet 1, 2, 3
Australian Bird Names (Fraser & Gray) 1
Avium Praecipuarum (Turner) 1
avocet 1, 2n, 3
babbler 1 African hill- 1
fulvous 1
Hume’s 1n
Ball, Philip 1n
Baltimore Orioles (baseball team) 1, 2
barbet 1n, 2
Barclay-Smith, Phyllis 1
Barkham, Patrick 1
Barnes, Simon 1
Barrell, Prof. John 1
Barrington, Daines 1
baseball teams 1, 2
Bass Rock, Scotland 1
bat, pipistrelle 1
Bauhar, Caspar 1
Bayeux Tapestry 1
bear, Himalayan brown (Ursus arctos isabellinus) 1
Bechstein, Johann Matthäus 1n
bee-eater 1n, 2, 3 European 1
rainbow 1
Beeton, Mrs 1
Beowulf 1, 2, 3
Berrick Salome, Oxfordshire 1
Bewick, Thomas 1, 2, 3, 4
Bexley Heath 1, 2
Bible (King James version, 1611) 1, 2
Biebrza Marshes, Poland 1
binoculars 1, 2, 3, 4
binomial nomenclature 1
biodiversity 1, 2
biomusicology 1n
bird, OED definition 1
bird names aboriginal 1, 2
auctioning 1
colour-based 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
English 1, 2, 3
English, official 1, 2, 3
English vs N. American 1, 2
eponymous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
folk 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
habitat-based 1, 2, 3n, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
New World 1, 2, 3, 4
onomatopoeic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
in popular culture 1
rude/offensive/racist 1
scientific see binomial nomenclature
bird of paradise 1, 2
bird song/calls, purpose 1
Bird Watching (Selous) 1, 2
birders confusion over bird names 1, 2, 3, 4
surveys 1
‘untickable views’ 1
use of English names 1, 2, 3, 4
use of scientific names 1, 2
use of song for identification 1, 2, 3, 4
‘world listers’ 1, 2
Birding World 1
BirdLife International 1
Birds and Men (Nicholson) 1
Birds of America, The (Audubon) 1
Birds Britannia (BBC4) 1
Birds Britannica (Cocker) 1
Birds of the British Isles and Their Eggs, The (Coward) 1
Birds of the West Indies (Bond) 1
Birds of the World 1, 2n, 3, 4
Birds of the World: Recommended English Names (Gill & Wright) 1
Birdwatch (magazine) 1
bittern 1, 2, 3, 4, 5n
blackbird (Turdus merula) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6n Asiatic/New World 1
origin of name 1, 2, 3, 4
red-winged 1
song 1n, 2, 3
‘black cap’ 1 see also tit, great
Blackburne, Anna 1, 2
blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8n, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
‘Blithe Spirit’ (Shelley) 1
Bluebirds (Cardiff City nickname) 1n
bluethroat 1
Blyth, Edward 1n
Boadicea 1
Bombycilla garrulus see waxwing
Bond, James (ornithologist) 1
Bonelli, Franco Andrea 1n
bonxie 1 see also skua, great
Book of Household Management (Beeton) 1
Borkowski, Marek 1
Botany Bay 1, 2, 3
bowerbird 1
Boys, William 1
brambling 1, 2
Brereton, John 1
Breton language 1
British Birds (magazine) 1, 2, 3
British Empire 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
British List 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
British Museum of Natural History 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) 1n, 2, 3n, 4, 5, 6, 7 see also British List
British Raj 1
British Tits (Perrins) 1
British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) 1, 2, 3, 4
British Zoology 1, 2, 3
brolga 1
Brontë, Emily 1
Brosnan, Pierce 1
BTO Atlas 1
budgerigar 1, 2
bullfinch 1n
Bullock, William 1, 2
Bullock, William (son) 1
bunting cirl 1
‘common’ see corn
corn 1, 2, 3, 4, 5n
Lapland 1, 2
‘longspur’ (N. American name) 1
Pallas’s reed 1n, 2n
reed 1, 2, 3, 4
snow 1, 2
Tristram’s 1n
yellow 1, 2
see also yellowhammer
Burchell, W. J. 1
bush-hen 1
Bush, George W. 1
bustard 1, 2, 3 great 1
‘thick-kneed’ 1 see also curlew, stone
butcher-bird (red-backed shrike) 1, 2
Butler, Samuel 1
butter bump 1 see also bittern
Buturlin, Sergei Aleksandrovich 1
buzzard 1, 2, 3, 4 honey 1
‘Bye baby bunting’ 1
Cabot, John 1
Caius, John 1
Caledonian pine forests 1
Cambridge, University of 1
Campbell, Sir Archibald 1
Canada, Arctic 1, 2 see also North-West Passage
Canaries (Norwich City football club) 1
Canterbury Tales, The (Chaucer) 1
capercaillie 1, 2, 3n Western 1
Capercaillie (band) 1 Caroline of Brunswick, Queen 1
Casino Royale (book) 1
Castle Museum, Norwich 1
Catholic Church 1, 2, 3
Celts 1n
Cetti, Francesco 1, 2
chaffinch 1n, 2, 3n, 4 origin of name 1
song accents 1
Champions of the Flyway 1
Charles I, King 1
Charles II, King 1
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor 1
Chaucer, Geoffrey 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Cherry-Garrard, Apsley 1
chickens 1, 2, 3
chiffchaff 1, 2, 3n, 4 migration 1, 2
‘shortwinged woodwrens’ 1
song 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Chocó vireo (Vireo masteri) 1, 2
chough 1, 2, 3n, 4, 5
Christchurch, Dorset 1, 2
Chroicocephalus ridibundus see gull, black-headed
citrine (coloration) 1
Civil Service 1, 2
Clangula hyemalis see duck, long-tailed
Clare, John 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
