Phalaropus fulicarius

9.9

A small bird that lives in northern oceans and lakes and has red breeding feathers and migrates long distances

noun

Specialized

: falaropo común

During the summer, the plumage of the Phalaropus fulicarius becomes a striking reddish color.

Examples

The Phalaropus fulicarius migrates thousands of miles between breeding and wintering grounds each year.
Researchers observed a flock of Phalaropus fulicarius feeding on invertebrates in the Arctic tundra.
The Phalaropus fulicarius migrates thousands of miles each year.
Did you see the Phalaropus fulicarius at the lake?
During the summer, the plumage of the Phalaropus fulicarius becomes a striking reddish color.
Researchers observed a flock of Phalaropus fulicarius feeding on invertebrates in the Arctic tundra.
The Phalaropus fulicarius migrates thousands of miles between breeding and wintering grounds each year.

Synonyms

red phalarope

vsPhalaropus fulicarius

9.1

A small bird that lives by northern seas and lakes and has bright red feathers in summer

is the formal scientific name used for the same species

Surface Forms

Phalaropus fulicarius singular

Phalaropus fulicariuses plural

Morphology

Phalaropus + fulicarius

This is a Latin scientific name (a proper binomial) rather than a compositional English phrase; knowing 'Phalaropus' as a genus label may suggest 'a wading bird' but the specific epithet 'fulicarius' is not a common English word and provides no predictable meaning to a B1 learner. Species names function as labels and are not transparently interpretable from their parts, so the overall meaning (the particular species and its traits) cannot be derived by knowing the constituents.

Etymology

Phalaropus fulicarius may come from old words where Phalaropus means 'coot-foot' and fulicarius means 'coot-like', a picture that points to the bird's webbed toes and its habit of swimming. So the name is a simple memory hook for a small shorebird that swims well and looks a bit like a coot.