Egretta thula

Translingual

Egretta thula, the snowy egret.

Etymology

Molina describes the snowy egret as "Ardea Thula" on pages 235 and 344 of Saggio sulla storia naturale del Chili (1782). (Page 344 shown here)

The epithet thula is possibly from a Mapudungun word for the black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus), or possibly from Thule (“The northernmost location of the ancient world”), an allusion to the whiteness of snow in the region. The epithet was given by Chilean naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina (1740-1829) in his work Saggio sulla Storia Naturale del Chili (1782). See also Egretta.

Proper noun

Egretta thula f

1. A taxonomic species within the family Ardeidae – the snowy egret.

References

• Egretta thula on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Egretta thula on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Egretta thula on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• Gill, F. and Wright, M. (2006) Birds of the World: Recommended English Names, Princeton University Press, →ISBN
• 2014, The Scientific Nomenclature of Birds in the Upper Midwest. James Sandrock. p52.
• 1993, The Oxford Dictionary of British Bird Names. W. B. Lockwood.