Bittern
Botaurus stellaris
[Linnaeus, 1758]
The bittern is a strange heron (Ardeidae family) indeed - and well known to early classical naturalists - the bird is even mentioned in the bible.
A bull-necked, thick-set, spangly-plumaged, partially nocturnal heron which hides deep in swamps and reedbeds during the day, the male bellows (or "booms") when advertising for a mate or proclaiming its territory. (See Pliny's description of this "booming" below)
I've almost explained the scientific name for the bittern without even breaking a sweat it seems...
The modern English word "bittern" stems from the old French "butor" which originally comes from the Gallo-Romance buitaurus ("ox-bull"), possibly on account of the fact that Pliny described it as "a bird which bellowed as a bull" - although this does seem a bit strange to me.
Botaurus is a Latin corruption of buitaurus and means (as described above) ox-bull.
Stellaris, Latin again, means "starry" - allthough whether this describes the bittern's spangled plumage or nocturnal habits might be up for debate (probably the former if I had to guess).
There we have it then... the bittern's Latin (in this case) name, literally means:
"Starry ox-bull".
A bull-necked, thick-set, spangly-plumaged, partially nocturnal heron which hides deep in swamps and reedbeds during the day, the male bellows (or "booms") when advertising for a mate or proclaiming its territory. (See Pliny's description of this "booming" below)
I've almost explained the scientific name for the bittern without even breaking a sweat it seems...
The modern English word "bittern" stems from the old French "butor" which originally comes from the Gallo-Romance buitaurus ("ox-bull"), possibly on account of the fact that Pliny described it as "a bird which bellowed as a bull" - although this does seem a bit strange to me.
Botaurus is a Latin corruption of buitaurus and means (as described above) ox-bull.
Stellaris, Latin again, means "starry" - allthough whether this describes the bittern's spangled plumage or nocturnal habits might be up for debate (probably the former if I had to guess).
There we have it then... the bittern's Latin (in this case) name, literally means:
"Starry ox-bull".
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