There are some birds with obscure and odd names in this world. You may have heard of the Booby family but what about Goatsuckers? Even more peculiar birds exist like Flufftails and Pufflegs. On this page we look at some of the wild and wacky names and examine if the birds they belong to are equally as odd.
Camiguin Hanging-Parrot - Loriculus camiguinensis
This unique bird is incredibly rare, only found on Camiguin Island in the Philippines. It is separated from the Philippine Hanging Parrot by the blue face. The "hanging-parrot" part of its name refers to the characteristic behavior of birds in the genus Loriculus, which are known for hanging upside down from branches while feeding or even sleeping.
Fearful Owl - Asio solomonensis
The Fearful Owl is reported in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea where it hunts endemic possums. It is a large predator with brown and rufous coloring. It is possible that it gets its name because of its surprised look.
Mewing Kingfisher - Todiramphus ruficollaris
The Mewing Kingfisher is found only in the Cook Islands. Superficially, it resembles the Sacred Kingfisher found throughout Australasia. It is named Mewing for its call, which is a very unusual sound for a kingfisher to make!
Grimwood's Longclaw - Macronyx grimwoodi
Sounding like something from a Harry Potter movie, the Grimwood's Longclaw is a pipit like bird found in Angola, DRC and Zambia. It has beautiful rufous tones with dark brown striations on the cap and back. There are other species of Longclaw and this bird was named after the African ornithologist Ellis Grimwood.
Slender-billed Flufftail - Sarothrura watersi
Looking at this photo of the very rare Slender-billed Flufftail, it is obvious why the family is so named with the short but voluminous tail. It is found only in high wetlands of Eastern Madagascar.
Cinderella Waxbill - Glaucestrilda thomensis
There is no record of why this pretty finch is named Cinderella. It is found in Angola and Namibia in woodlands and savannah.
Exclamatory Paradise-Whydah - Vidua interjecta
This is an extraordinary bird and worthy of a wild name. Found across central Africa, it prefers woodland and savannah. As the range map below shows, it is widespread but uncommon. It is a parasitic bird with the female being smaller and very plain. The male may be so flamboyant for distraction.
Scimitar-winged Piha - Lipaugus uropygialis
A rather plainer bird this time - a cotinga found in Bolivia and Peru. It is rare, vulnerable and cryptic making it difficult to find. It gets its name from the unique and unusual modifications to its primary wing feathers, particularly in males, which resemble the curved blade of a scimitar sword.
Ticking Doradito - Pseudocolopteryx citreola
The Ticking Doradito is a South American migratory tyrant-flycatcher. It is an attractive small bird that was only discovered in the last 15 years. Found in swampy areas, it is little known or studied.
Bolivian Recurvebill - Syndactyla striata
A difficult to find foliage-gleaner of Bolivia, this Recurvebill is resident of montane forests. The name comes from their bill which while doesn't look particularly odd, has an interesting adaptation to manipulate bamboo stems.
Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler - Stachyris humei
This attractive bird is quite logically named. Sikkim for the location in Bhutan where it was first discovered, wedge-billed for the sharp bill and babbler for the incessant chattering made by this family of birds. It is rare and Near Threatened surviving in pockets of dense forests.
Colorful Puffleg - Eriocnemis mirabilis
This is a very rare Columbian hummingbird. The puffleg are named for the pale, shaggy feathers on the legs. Although they may appear dark all over in the cloud forest, these tiny birds certainly are colorful with red, white, blues and greens.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are birds named?
There are lots of reasons why birds are named so. Firstly, they are grouped into families with similar characteristics, which usually gives them their last name. For example: heron, swallow and eagle. Their first name may be a descriptor (eg, red-tailed), the name of the first person to study them (eg, Audubon) or the location they were discovered (eg, California). Some even come from ancient old names like Sparrow, which comes from Old English "spearwa" (imitating chirping).
What is the weirdest bird name?
My choices would be the Exclamatory Paradise-Whydah and the Satanic Goatsucker.
What is the hardest bird name to say?
Of American bird names, it has to be the Pyrrhuloxia. I always have to spell out each part!
Wrapping Up
So, there are the best of weirdly named birds. For some, there is a good reason for their names and for others, who knows why they are so called. It is interesting to me that they are mostly rare, scarcely found and cryptic.
Maybe that makes their crazy names more justifiable.
Read more about the oddest birds in the United States.
A Parade of Peculiarities: The United States' Oddest Birds
