Birds are incredibly diverse and come in many forms, from tiny nectar-drinkers to large carnivorous raptors. Some of these birds seem to be named by ornithologists who just had a bad day or were just in a hurry. Here are some birds with funny names that we didn’t just make up.
Related: Identify Singapore’s common colourful birds
Birds with funny, dirty names
Boobies
Possibly named after the Spanish slang bobo (“stupid”), they had a habit of landing on sailing ships, where they were easily captured and eaten. The most famous species is the Blue-footed booby, which has bright blue feet.
Tits
These tiny European birds are stocky, with short, stout bills are also referred to as chickadee or titmouse. There are many species of tits, including the Great Tit, Elegant Tit, Sombre Tit, etc.
Woodcock
Woodcocks are wading birds that live in woodlands. The Funky American Woodcock (aka timberdoodle, bogsucker, or hokumpoke) is known for its funny ‘bobbing dance’ when searching for food. In addition to being one of many birds with funny names, it’s also got a funny ‘dance’ as shown here:
Cock-of-the-Rock
Native to South America, male cocks-of-the-rock are magnificently bright orange or red plumage (with black wings), with fan-shaped crests. They spend a lot of energy in leks, or competitive dancing to compete for mates.
Shags
Shags are goose-sized fish-eating long-necked birds with many variants, including one with the funny name of Rough-faced Shag.
Harry Potter-inspired names
Hoary Puffleg
A South American hummingbird found in mid-elevation Andean cloud forests, pufflegs are known for their dense snow-white leg puffs which consist of feather tufts that resemble woolly underpants.
Spangled Drongo
Found in Australia, this black bird with its characteristic forked tail can mimic the sounds it hears and sometimes makes astonishingly entertaining calls that sound like a sneeze.
Perplexing Scrubwren
Found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea in tropical moist forests and moist montane forests, feeding primarily on insects and some seeds. Its cousins include the Weebill and Shy Heathwren.
Fairywren
Fairywrens are tiny birds with blue plumage, with names like Splendid Fairywren with its (almost) completely electric blue plumage, Superb Fairywren where the males sing to their eggs, and the Lovely Fairywren.
Some badass bird names
Tyrant Flycatchers
The name “Tyrant” reflects the aggressive nature of some species. There are over 400 species of these insect-eating songbirds, including the Great Shrike-tyrant, the largest of the tyrant flycatchers.
Satanic Goatsucker
This rare, nocturnal bird is a species of Nightjar or Nighthawk family. Its habitat is restricted to Sulawesi. This super badass bird is also known as the Diabolical Nightjar and the Devilish Nightjar.
Dracula Parrot
Endemic to New Guinea, this bird has the body of a parrot with a bright red underside and the black head of a vulture. Its call ranges from a “harsh and rasping growl,” to a “drawn-out scream” when it’s in flight.
Parasitic Jaeger
They’re fast-flying relatives of gulls with a piratical lifestyle, preying mainly on birds and their eggs. This bird is parasitic not from sucking blood, but from “kleptoparasite” because it steals their food from other animals.
Horned Screamer
Related to ducks, the horned screamer’s call, as its name suggests, is a very loud echoing sound. These unicorns of the bird world grow long, white “horns” on their foreheads over the course of their lives – some approaching 6 inches. No other birds on earth have anything like it.
Bird names that sound like funny food names
Morepork
This is a small brown owl found in New Zealand and Tasmania. The bird calls out in a distinctive “more-pork” sound that the Maori culture considers a good sign. Despite its name, it feeds on large invertebrates and small birds, rats, and mice.
Green Mango
Rather than a fruit, this is a large, hummingbird with an iridescent dark green-turquoise plumage. It’s endemic to the main island of Puerto Rico, where they usually feed on the nectar of Heliconia flowers.
Bananaquit
This tiny, active, warbler-like bird loves sugar and nectar, so it’s nicknamed “Sugar Bird”. It has yellow underparts, which is probably why you call it ‘banana’.
Sandwich Tern
This pale, medium-sized seabird has a distinctive yellow tip on its black bill and feeds by plunge diving for fish. Ornithologists named after the first place they were first identified: the town of Sandwich in the UK.
Birds are so boring, they’re funny…
Sad Flycatcher
There’s nothing sad about a Sad Flycatcher. Its scientific name is Mylobius tristis – tristis means sad in Latin – which referred to its song that was described as “a wailing note, particularly sad to hear.” Endemic to Jamaica, its local name is Little Tom Fool because it tends not to move even when people get close.
Drab Seedeater
You can find this bird in Ecuador and Peru, where the males often sing a short series of buzzy notes. With its dull brown-grey colour, you can probably guess why it’s called ‘drab’.
Common Loon
This diving bird is commonly found in Canada and the USA. Because it’s so common, it’s the provincial bird of Ontario. It appears on Canadian currency, including the one-dollar “loonie”.
Monotonous Lark
It’s probably so named because it’s described simply as “a medium-small, compact lark with a small bill, a plain face, and an indistinct eyebrow.”
Invisible Rail
Endemic to Indonesia, this flightless bird is confined to swamp forests and wetlands. It has a drum-like call that ends with a loud scream. It’s related to the Snoring Rail, which has a call that’s a short wheez followed by a distinctive snoring ee-orrrr.
Go-Away-Bird
These African birds have drab grey and white plumage, named for their raucous alarm call, “Kuh-wei!”, which sounds like “Go Away!”. People believe they alert other species to the presence of predators or other dangers.
There’s a ton of other birds with funny names that we just can’t fit in here. Many of them are probably named after how annoying they are. For example, the Screaming Piha, or birds simply named ‘Noisy’, like the Noisy Pitta, Noisy Friarbird, Noisy Scrubbird, and Noisy Miner.
Bird names are a neverending source of entertainment! One has to wonder what the ornithologists were doing when they named them.
