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Arctic Terns are a rarity in New York State.  But Sterna paradisaea can be found pretty much every year at Cupsogue Beach County Park on Long Island in very small numbers and only during the summer.  Shai Mitra has already done an excellent job on this blog of explaining the methods that must be employed to [...]

I’ve always thought there is something prehistoric about frigatebirds, as something about their shape evokes in my mind the shape I imagine the later pterosaurs would cut in the late Cretaceous skies. This association belies the advanced and highly sophisticated adaptations the family has evolved for a life of wandering, hunting and, yes, piracy on [...]

…is this black: Don’t even get me started on Gallinule Purple! If you’re a fan of crime novels set in Scotland, you might be more partial to author Ann Cleeves’ interpretation of Raven Black!

While green is rather common color in avian plumage, it rarely attains the flamboyance of a parrot’s chartreuse or the emerald of a hummingbird. More birds are adorned in more practical, which is to say muted tones. One rather colorful name for a stock yet sober shade of green is olivaceous. Olivaceous means just what [...]

As far as color terms go, vermilion is a winner, reeking of exoticism and antiquity. As fine as this color feels tripping off the tongue, it’s even easier on the eyes. Vermilion refers to a specific shade of reddish-orange washed with ashy gray, reminiscent of an overripe beefsteak tomato. This is the pigment derived from [...]

Ah, emerald! That brilliant beryl, birthstone of May and the most valuable gemstone, by weight, in the world, shines with a green so pure and bright that only the most verdant lands dare claim its name. The color emerald looks as fine in a feather as it does in a jewel. In Central and South [...]

Ah rose, the color of swanky gardens and rampant optimism. Rose by any other name also appears prominently in the plumage of some very perky birds. Rosy, a proper adjectival form of the word, describes a selection of finches from the genus Leucosticte. Of the four rosy finches, lovely earth-toned birds anointed with stark pink [...]

Readers of my recent disquisition of the color buff may have been surprised to learn of so many terms for yellow-brown in the English language. Equally astonishing, you may agree, is the abundance of options for describing brownish-yellow. But linguistic specificity allows for clarity of expression. Why say “happy” when you’re actually feeling blissful, blithe, [...]

Of all the subtle shades and tones of the natural world, one of the most dominant yet least recognized colors has to be buff. Located in virtually every terrestrial habitat and adorning multitudes of animals, buff is featured prominently in nature’s palette This soft, subtle color walks a fine line between yellow and brown, often [...]

When I demanded of my friend what viands he preferred, He quoth: “A large cold bottle, and a small hot bird!” – Eugene Field, The Bottle and the Bird One needn’t be restricted to the culinary arena to enjoy the pairing of wine and bird. I recommend that you start looking outside your kitchen for [...]

There are sulphur-colored birds, and hideous intestines hanging over the doors of houses that I hate – Pablo Neruda, Walking Around Depending on the direction towards which your inner compass points, the word sulphur might conjure images of the Periodic Table of Elements, lit matches, bubbling hot springs, or even butterflies. You may even stop [...]

Although many of the terms used to denote color in birds may be unknown to apprentice observers of avifauna, most learn the meaning of the word cerulean rather quickly. The ready recognition of this word in the Americas stems specifically from one winning wood warbler, the Cerulean Warbler. This species’ exceptional coloration, blue where so [...]

Of all the classifications for chromaticity in the common names of birds, violaceous is certainly one of the most colorful. This word conjures images of the sultry Neotropics, where assorted trogons, euphonias, turacos, quail-doves, and jays parade about in their purple majesty. Violaceous is simply a fancy term for violet. Most of our violaceous avians [...]

Another interesting, some might say antiquated color choice employed by those who get to name birds is plumbeous. Plumbeous refers to a heavy, leaden gray. Those of you with an education in chemistry probably spotted the origin of this word, from the Latin “plumbum” for lead. The word plumbeous may also be used to mean [...]

Some fortunate folks have been endowed throughout history with the awesome responsibility of ascribing common names to newly discovered avian species. Often, perhaps too often, these eloquent souls went above and beyond the call of duty in describing the palette of colors confronting them. That’s why we nature lovers have to go above and beyond [...]