Sayornis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small insect-eating bird found in North and Central America, known for its plain coloring and habit of bobbing its tail ; a member of the tyrant flycatcher family distinguished by its aerial feeding behavior ; a genus of flycatchers including several species that are commonly seen perching near water
2. A type of passerine bird recognized for dull plumage and characteristic tail-pumping ; a flycatcher genus native to the Americas, feeding mainly on insects ; a bird group that often inhabits open or riparian habitats
3. An inconspicuous songbird observed snapping up insects in midair near streams ; a family member of the Tyrannidae notable for a subdued appearance ; a genus comprising several similar-looking North and Central American flycatchers

Etymology: Sayornis is a genus of small flycatchers, and its name was coined in 1827 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon who spent much of his career classifying birds. The name is built from two Greek elements. "Sayor-" is a rendering of the Greek "sauros," meaning "lizard," and "-ornis" comes from "ornis," meaning "bird." Bonaparte was not describing a bird that resembles a lizard; he was assembling a scientific label from classical roots, as taxonomists of the period routinely did. The genus was named in honour of the naturalist Thomas Say, an American zoologist whose surname was attached to several North American animals. Bonaparte's choice of "lizard" has puzzled readers ever since, since nothing about the birds' appearance suggests a reptile. Naming the genus after Say and then compounding the name from Greek parts produced a label that is clearly a modern coinage rather than an ancient word.

Synonyms: flycatcher, bird species