Inca Birds

Inca tern at the National Aviary (photo by Shawn Collins)

My blog about the pyramid of Inca doves got me thinking of birds named for the Incan people.   How many of these names exist?

A search found 13 birds with “Inca” in their English names…

Hummingbirds:

Black Inca Coeligena prunellei
Bronzy Inca Coeligena coeligena
Brown Inca Coeligena wilsoni
Collared Inca Coeligena torquata

Inca-finches:

Buff-bridled Inca-finch Incaspiza laeta
Great Inca-finch Incaspiza pulchra
Grey-winged Inca-finch Incaspiza ortizi
Little Inca-finch Incaspiza watkinsi
Rufous-backed Inca-finch Incaspiza personata

Other species:

Inca Dove Columbina inca
Inca Flycatcher Leptopogon taczanowskii
Inca Tern Larosterna inca
Inca Wren Thryothorus eisenmanni

…and prompted two quiz questions:

  1. All but one of these species is native to South America.  Which bird doesn’t live in the land of the Incas?
  2. Can you think of birds named for other native American tribes or empires?  I can think of only one.

 

(photo of an Inca tern at the National Aviary by Shawn Collins)

3 thoughts on “Inca Birds

  1. 2. Fun quiz! Aztec Parakeet, Aztec Thrush, Montezuma Quail, Montezuma Oropendola, Green-throated Carib, and Purple-throated Carib. Also, Quetzal is an indigenous word if that counts.

    1. Frank, you thought of far more birds than I did. I’m impressed! I only came up with “Aztec Thrush.”

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