Exploring the Personalities Hidden Inside Birds’ Latin Names
Latin names are sort of like the spice that sits in the back of the cabinet for years on end without detection. They could be useful to add some flavour, but instead they’re mostly ignored, lurking in the dark, waiting to be rediscovered.
Hence, I am compelled to shine a light on some Latin names, specifically, avian ones. There’s something about birds already that makes them seem like feathered witches and wizards. First of all, the majority of them wake up at sunrise, which to me is essentially the equivalent of mastering witchcraft and wizardry. Second, they own the sky, a.k.a., they operate on a higher level than we do, literally.
Now, how many bird species are roughly estimated to be on the planet currently?
11,000.1
A little egg-cessive, I know, file an inquiry with Evolution for a justification (although you probably won’t get a response).
And why do we care about this number? There are many reasons, but for now, let’s focus on the vast array of magical Latin bird names we have. Let’s not underestimate the joy of having access to this information, as after all, even the bird with the fanciest name will never be aware of it.
Now, given the limits of human productivity (mine) and reasonable attention spans, we of course won’t be deep-diving into every name here. Instead, I’ll highlight a few of my favourite Latin bird names, determined by a combination of personal bias and completely randomised selection. Think of the process akin to pulling a rabbit, or rather, a bird, out of a sequence of hats.
Columba Livia — The City Crumb Conjurer
Columba Livia sounds like the type to dance around unapologetically, living life to the fullest in the pursuit of the magic crumb. It reads the Earth’s magnetic field like a secret city map, akin to the avian version of a certain mischievous wizarding map that only reveals the location of crumbs. It’s kind frequently stages coos, gathering on rooftops of varying quality to host secret meetings planning chaotic crumb heists and minor power shifts within the social hierarchy.
Species: Rock Dove.
A bird well-known for its expansion across footpaths and rooftops alike worldwide, treating every city as a personal stage for crumb-centric antics.
Prime Power: Magnetic cartography
Ability to generate mental maps, possibly using quantum entanglement.2
Larus Argentatus — The Salty Snack Sorcerer
Larus Argentatus sounds like a Roman emperor — the kind who would conquer coastlines not just for glory or prestige, but for snacks. There’s an air, or rather, a breeze, of strategic authority to the name — the kind of figure who consolidates resources efficiently, particularly if those resources are fried. While humanoids struggle to figure out efficient ways to filter salt out of seawater, these Sorcerers have secretly held the patent for the whole process — and, for reasons unknown, have never shared it.
Species: European Herring Gull.
A bird well-known for its advanced snack-harvesting spells and ability to manifest at the perfect moment to maximise chip-return yield.
Prime power: Bird-salt-filter duality
It will never need to pay for bottled water, possessing a miniature desalination plant conveniently situated in its glands.3
Bubo Bubo — The Twilight Watcher Wizard
Bubo bubo carries the kind of name that sounds like it should only be spoken at dusk, whispered by a creature who knows far more than it lets on. The glasses industry despises this being, in possession of some of the fanciest airborne lenses around that could single-handedly put optometrists out of business. It has also cracked the code to creating a transportable cone of silence — an acoustic cloaking spell that renders its flight functionally undetectable.
Species: Eurasian Eagle Owl
A bird well known but much less well seen, due to its avoidance of daytime activities and mastery of silence.
Prime power: Shadow sight
Posesses unrivalled nocturnal monitoring, gathering movement data with zero consent forms or cookie pop-ups — a level of efficiency that would spook most regulatory bodies.
Anser Anser — The Penchant Pond Patroller
Anser Anser has the air of a being that doesn’t need to ask questions, because it’s already figured everything out. It walks with the confidence of a creature that believes every pond, lake, and decorative fountain is simply waiting for its approval. It’s a self-appointed landlord that can’t prove it owns the property, but you accept its authority anyway, thanks to its intimidating stance and convincing threats of eviction.
Its migratory behaviour only adds to the mystique: instead of settling down, Anser Anser relocates with the energy of someone who refuses to address overdue letters from the Tax Collection Authority.
Species: Greylag Goose
A bird hard to ignore, known for its talent in inducing mild anxiety at the thought of an unsolicited nibble or an unexpected territorial charge.
Prime power: Aquatic dominion
Commands ponds and lakes with an innate, almost ritualistic authority — shaping invisible borders through posture and presence alone.
Conclusion
So there you have it — a whirlwind tour through a mere sliver of the feathered ranks of avian society. Whether you’re conjuring crumbs, desalinating oceans, traversing through the night unnoticed, or enforcing pond law with alarming confidence, birds have clearly mastered more arcane disciplines than we have. It’s probably for the best that they can’t read this; after all, knowledge is dangerous, and the current world order doesn’t need any additional threats from the avian realm.
P.S. — if you’d like to investigate a wider array of latin avian names yourself, one place you could visit worldbirdnames.org4 (not sponsored, just an avid bird promotor)
References
- Birds. (2022, October 2). BirdLife International. https://www.birdlife.org/birds/
- Ritz, T. (2011). Quantum effects in biology: Bird navigation. Procedia Chemistry, 3(1), 262–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proche.2011.08.034
- (PDF) Adaptation and Mechanism of the salt gland in sea bird. (2025). ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367461505_Adaptation_and_Mechanism_of_the_salt_gland_in_sea_bird
- Family Index – IOC World Bird List v15.1. (2025, February 20). https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/classification/family-index-2/
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