Birds: What’s In A Name?

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 lsquo;scientificrsquo; 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 ndash; such as Troglodytes for wren, meaning lsquo;cave-dwellerrsquo; ndash; others are more mysterious ndash; Caprimulgus for nightjar, for example, meaning lsquo;goat-suckerrsquo;. Covering hundreds of bird species from around the world, Birds: Whatrsquo;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, itrsquo;s the most readable and entertaining book on the subject available anywhere. Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard) lsquo;The duck with the flat beakrsquo;. Ixobrychus minutus (Little Bittern) lsquo;Small reed bellowerrsquo;. Strigops habroptilus (Kakapo) A bird that lsquo;looks like an owl, with soft feathersrsquo;. Ptilonorhynchus violaceus (Satin Bowerbird) lsquo;Violet bird with a feathered billrsquo;. Tachybaptus ruficollis (Little Grebe) Literally translated, this is the lsquo;red-collared fast-sinkerrsquo;.