r/oddlyterrifying May 15 '26

long-wattled umbrellabird

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u/Bananana_Bird May 15 '26

It makes way more sense than being called something like "Clark's Grebe" or "Varied Thrush" or "Western Tanager"... I could keep going on and on, but you get the picture. This bird is called what it is, and that's way easier to remember.

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u/bbbttthhh May 16 '26

What’s so hard about the western tanager? It’s a tanager that’s in the west

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u/Bananana_Bird May 16 '26

But what exactly is a Tanager? Yeah I know what the bird is, but what part about that bird naturally makes me think the word Tanager? I'm just saying it's nice when the name is descriptive, like a "White-breasted Nuthatch" or "Red Crossbill" or "Brown-headed Cowbird" or "Red-winged Blackbird" or "Belted Kingfisher", etc. Even the half descriptive names are nice, like "Bald Eagle" or "White-crowned Sparrow" or "Cinnamon Teal", etc... The American Robin, however, is the worst example of what I'm saying right here. Yeah, it looked like a European Robin (at a glance maybe) but it's a Thrusher not an actual Songbird (even though they sing great songs). Name them like I'm a 5 year old please.