What’s in a Name?

 World Bird Sanctuary staff, volunteers, and interns have been coming up with names for our resident animals for over 30 years. 

Currently we house approximately 150-200 animals and, of course, we have had many animals come and go throughout those 30 years.  Wow, that is a lot of names! 

So… how have we chosen names for our birds and other animals over the years?  They have come from a wide variety of sources and for many reasons.  Here are some examples:

Caution, our Eurasian Eagle Owl, was named Caution because the animal crate he arrived in had Caution written on it.  This meant “Caution Live Animal” but seemed like a great name.

 Kinsey, the new Turkey Vulture in the Education Department, was in need of a name when beloved volunteer John Kinsey passed away.  John was bald and so are Turkey Vultures, so we thought it very appropriate to name this bird after John.  He loved all the birds and would have gotten a smile off a vulture being named after him! 

We named one of our Bald Eagles Liberty, as it seemed an appropriate name for our national symbol. 

We often look to the animal and its personality to help us choose a name.  For example, Batty our Straw colored fruit bat has a more nervous jumpy personality, and his brother Scar has a scar on his lip from an injury he had when he was a youngster at another facility.

Twig, our Eastern Screech Owl, has his name because Screech Owls try to make themselves look like a branch or twig as camouflage in the wild.

We look at the practicality of a name…  Will it be easy to say in a program and not be misconstrued as another word, ie, anything that rhymes with an inappropriate word is generally not acceptable.  Is it a name that is easily pronounced?  Is it a name children will be able to relate to?

We look at cultures, habitat, or behaviors that are common to the animal…  Often we look to other languages for a foreign word, for a characteristic, or just the type of animal it is.  For example Ookpik, our snowy owl got his name because it means Snowy Owl in Inuktitut; Luna the Barn Owl because luna means moon.  Turnpike, the American Kestrel, was named such because kestrels commonly live and hunt near highways and turnpikes.  Chad, the Augur Buzzard, was named after the country in Africa because Augur Buzzards are from Africa.

Currently we are asking you, our supporters, to help us name the new Harris Hawk in our Education Department.

Here are some suggestions about this specific bird and species for use when searching for a name for this little guy:

Based on the bird’s size we know that it is a male.  For a male he has fairly large feet similar to a female Harris Hawk.  He has somewhat of a stubborn streak.  At times he is quite sheepish, while at others he tries to exert dominance.  Harris Hawks are native to the Southwestern United States and live in the desert.  Harris Hawks are unusual because they live in family groups and hunt in packs like wolves.

Here are some examples of past Harris Hawk names:  Rifle, Tequila, Saguaro, Dallas, Malone, Mesquite, Solstice.

I hope these will help get your creative juices flowing for this very important project!  Don’t forget, the person that submits the winning name will have the honor of being his first adoptive parent!  The naming contest ends April 30th.


To submit a name, just send it as a comment on this blog.

Submitted by Teri Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Director of Education