Name Derivations for Birds -
"pomarine jaeger" is from a combination of Greek and German words, "pomarine" meaning--believe it or not--a "horned nose" (having nothing to do with the distinctive spoon-shaped double tail of the bird which identifies it in the field but with a horny protrusion over the nostrils), and "jaeger" meaning "hunter" in German. Rhinocerous, by the way, is the opposite of pomarine, because it is Greek for "nose horn," and so the rhinocerous auklet is a seabird with a nose-horn!
"parasitic jaeger" comes from the way the birds hunt by robbing other birds, such as gulls. The name "skua" which is used by Europeans has a quite different origin, interestingly enough, from a Scandinavian word meaning "tassel," which apparently describes the peculiar tail feathers on all types of jaegers.
"phalarope" has a Greek origin from two words meaning "white-spotted" and "lobe-footed," and so it is a seabird that gets its name from its appearance, both the white on its neck or face and the lobed feet with which it swims.
:ptarmigan" is strangest of all, because it comes from a Gaelic or Scottish word "tarmachan" and took its initial "p" apparently illegitimately from Greek words that start with "pt" such as "Ptolemy."
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