prettygoodword | bananaquit

bananaquit (buh-NA-nuh-kwit) - n., a nectar-feeding passerine bird (Coereba flaveola) of the American tropics with a slender down-curved bill, gray back, striped head, and bright yellow underparts.

two bananaquits telling the other to quit it

Thanks, WikiMedia!

Also called a honeycreeper, and is indeed closely related to them, both being types of tanagers. Because they feed on nectar, they frequent hummingbird feeders in their range. The name comes from being yellow like a banana + quit, a little-known name for several species of small American passerines, including also grassquit and orangequit, origin uncertain but possibly imitative of the call of one or more species.

(I mean seriously -- bananaquit?)

And that ends another week of amusing bird names. I have more birds in the queue, but I'm taking a break for a week for the Usual Assortment before returning to them.

---L.