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Birds What's in a Name?: from Accipiter to Zoothera The Origin of Bird Names Second edition
Author(s): Peter Barry (Author)
- Publisher: New Holland Publishers
- Publication Date: October 6, 2025
- Edition: Second edition
- Language: English
- Print length: 224 pages
- ISBN-10: 1760796956
- ISBN-13: 9781760796952
Book Description
This entertaining and informative guide explains the meanings of bird names, many of which have fascinating origins and stories behind them. The universal system of ‘ scientific’ names, based largely on Greek and Latin, is used in all good bird books and assists birdwatchers around the world in figuring out exactly what they are looking at. While some of the names are fairly self-explanatory – such as Troglodytes for wren, meaning ‘ cave-dweller’ – others are more mysterious – Caprimulgus for nightjar, for example, meaning ‘ goat-sucker’ . Covering hundreds of bird species from around the world, Birds: What’ s In A Name? includes explanations of hundreds of scientific names and common names, as well as delivering a wealth of other facts and trivia relating to the species concerned. In short, it’ s the most readable and entertaining book on the subject available anywhere. Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard) ‘ The duck with the flat beak’ . Ixobrychus minutus (Little Bittern) ‘ Small reed bellower’ . Strigops habroptilus (Kakapo) A bird that ‘ looks like an owl, with soft feathers’ . Ptilonorhynchus violaceus (Satin Bowerbird) ‘ Violet bird with a feathered bill’ . Tachybaptus ruficollis (Little Grebe
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About the Author
Peter Barry is the author of the book Birds: What’s in a Name?, Peter lives in Aberdeen and has a lifelong fascination with birds, particularly their names.
