I like goofy bird names BECAUSE they're goofy. I think names like Ancient
Murrelet, Yellow-bellied Spasucker and Northern Beardless-tyrannulet make
birding even more entertaining. Things could be worse; remember, the name
Wheatear comes from the Old English "white arse".

But I do agree with Dennis--birders, especially those without scientific
backgrounds, don't learn or use scientific names as often as they should.
As Dennis points out, if you know your Latin and Greek roots, these names
can be very informative. Knowing scientific names gives you a large amount
of information about taxonomic relationships not found in common names. And
these names can also be quite beautiful!

Rachel Lawson
Seattle, WA