White eyed vireo

White eyed vireo by ricmcarthur
White eyed vireo, a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr.
This is one bird name that actually makes sense. It has a white eye.
Bird names are not always descriptive such as the red bellied woodpecker.

It has red on its head but at best just a pinkish blush on the belly.
Even then the pinky colour can only be seen in certain light or if you have the bird in the hand.

Way back when birds were being named there were no binoculars.
They shot the bird then examined it for specific field marks.
The red headed name was already used so it became the red bellied.



So, be thankful when a descriptive bird name actually makes sense.

Have a good weekend.

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