April 2, 2020

Location: Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, Broadmoor section, Fellsmere

I am an American Bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus is my scientific Id
In Latin, "Bo" means "Oxen", and "Taurus" is bull
"Lentiginosus" means I'm freckled, you see.
But what exactly do oxen and bulls
Have anything to do with me?

Note: According to Wikipedia, "Pliny gave a fanciful derivation from Bos (ox) and taurus (bull), because the bittern's call resembles the bellowing of a bull."  I went and listened to the calls of the American Bittern, which to me sound nothing at all like a bull (unless perhaps that bull is trying to swallow a giant frog). So then I listened to the calls of a Eurasian Bittern, which I guess sound a little more like a bull, if you have never heard an actual bull. But it still didn't make a lot of sense to me, so I looked for the source.

One of my favorite resources on the internet is Project Gutenberg, which has thousands of books published before 1924, and is where I found a copy of Pliny the Elder's Natural History. To quote from the Birds chapter of the book,

"There is one bird, found in the territory of Arelate, that imitates the lowing of oxen, from which circumstance it has received the name of “taurus.”"

This statement is footnoted with:

"The “bull.” This cannot possibly be the bittern, as some have suggested, for that is a large bird."

So I am still unsure as to how the bittern got this scientific name, but if you have never seen it, I highly recommend perusing some of Pliny the Elder's work. In particular, check out these sections discussing eggs:

• When birds lay, and how many eggs. The various kinds of herons
• What eggs are called hypenemia, and what cynosura. How eggs are best kept

Some of the quotes are very interesting and made me appreciate scientific endeavors throughout history. There is not a lot of information in this tome (other than bird names) that you will find in any modern bird guide or encyclopedia. This to me, is the beauty of scientific knowledge - it is corrected and updated as our knowledge grows. And it makes me wonder what bird guides will look like a thousand years from now.

Sources: Project Gutenberg

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson