What a Name Thursday

Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant

Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant. Now, that’s quite a name for a 4” insect-loving bird.

And it gets even better.

Its scientific or Latin species name is margaritaceiventer. Well, clearly, I had to find the origins of that!

The species name originated with French naturalists Alcide d’Orbigny and Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1837, based on the Spanish naturalist Félix de Azara’s description of the bird in the early 1800s as pearly-bellied.

margaritaceiventer comes from two Latin words:

“magaritaceus”, derived from margarita (pearl), means pearled or pearly

“venter, ventris” means belly.

And that, my friends, is your linguistics lesson for today. Plus a super cute bird.

Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant Hemitriccus margaritaceiventer 10 cm/4”

Pousada Aguapé, Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

September 28, 2025