What's in a name?

Semi-random musings about my birds

Being the nerd that I am, along with enjoying my mixed flocks of turkeys, ducks and geese, I also enjoy learning about their scientific names and the etymologies of words (yes, that’s a word - I had to look it up and see that was the plural noun form - I warned you I was a nerd).

I’ve gone into a lot of depth about the background of turkeys before, but will sum up a little and talk about etymologies (again). Meleagris (Greek for guineafowl) and gallopavo (Spanish for rooster-turkey) as a species name demonstrates people struggled to name these Guinea-Fowl-Rooster-Turkey things. The ancient Mexicans did, as well, but were more direct - their word Huehxolotl means “big monster” and gives us the modern Mexican word for living turkeys, Guajolote. Not coincidentally, the term for cooked turkey is Pavo. Our English word for Turkeys comes from the misconception that these birds were guineas, from that area of the world, instead of their true origin, Mesoamerica. Its blandish meat pairs well with another Mesoamerican staple, hot chilies. Three basic Turkey varieties or color patterns - White, Black and Bronze, trace their roots to ancient Mexicans and provide the genetic components for more modern color patterns like Narragansett and Royal Palm.

The Latin species name for geese, Anser anser literally means “goose goose” and refers to a basic wild type goose, the Greylag, from which modern breeds have been developed. My favorite breed, the American Pilgrim goose, is similar to the Cotton Patch goose in that these breeds are American and auto-sexing. Thankfully not too closely related to Canadian Geese, which golfers, hikers and the general public have been trained to fear since forever, Branta spp. “black goose”. Perhaps the silly child’s game should be renamed to “Goose, Goose, DUCK” with the corresponding slap that makes you It?

Ducks have wonderfully complex species names, from the Muscovy Cairina moschata (sounds like a fancy wine! and also an American bird) to the Mallard based Anas platyrhynchos from which our domestic ducks come from. Anas is Latin for duck, but weirdly different from the modern Spanish term Pato, which you’re familiar with if you’ve ever watched Pocoyo. The modern Italian word for duck, however, is anatra. The platyrhynchos part is Greek and means “broad-billed” and yes, I know what you’re thinking…the Duck-billed Platypus’ species name is actually Ornitho(bird)rhynchus(snout) anatinus(duck-like). So apparently struggling to name things in Greek and Latin is part of the biologist’s curse.

A lovely duck variety is the Ancona, which is American despite being named for an Italian town (the same town Ancona chickens come from, but are Italian). The chicken breed was developed from Leghorn chickens, which despite their name also are Italian, from Livorno. Americans had trouble pronouncing Italian for “from Livorno” or Livornese and anglicized that term into ‘Leghorn’. Until next time, That’s All Folks!