Silly names that are actually in use for animals

Nature Talk
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21

I guess killer whale is a really bad name, orca is better! literally all name from whales are pretty bad, I know these names came from whaler time, but, these are so unfair

22

My family and neighbors call it bacon too.

23

I’ve heard flying rats for bats. Guess it is a versatile name. :-)

24

Tree Rat = Squirrel
Swamp rat = Muskrat
Speed Goat = Pronghorn Antelope

25

i like the many images this conjures for me

26

Where I’m working we have Serow which I call Hillbilly Antelope, but I’m probably the only person in the world who calls them that.

27

also, where I grew up, gonyleptid harvesten are locally called as onion spiders, because they are pretty smelly lol

28

the Sumatran one looks like a tapir X goat X boar X deer which is silly in of itself. I’m pretty sure Hillbilly Antelope and Speed Goats hang out.

29

The Spanish phrase for peacock is “pavo real” (royal turkey).

And in some languages, German for one, bats are referred to as “flying mice”.

I think the Chinese word for horned owls translates to “cat-head eagle.”

If you think about it, English “butterfly” is kind of silly-- what do they have to do with butter?

One of my high school teachers referred to House Sparrows as “McDonaldsLand Sparrows.”

And Pete Dunne’s Field Guide Companion has a lot of humorous nicknames for birds. The coot, for example, is “Black Teapot With A White Spout.”

30

It is the same in German - Schmetterling can be translated as ‘creamling’. You can find some etymological background on wikipedia or wiktionary.org

31

I actually think a lot of german names for animals would apply here ;-D
We are seemingly not that creative…

https://www.dailyinfographic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/VlakL8H.jpg

32

well, literally peacock is pea cock

33

Thinking about other animal names in chinese:

Panda is 熊猫 which translates to “bear-cat”
Hippo is 河马 which translates to “river horse”
Giraffe is 长颈鹿 which translates to “long-neck deer”
Salticidae are known as 跳蛛 which literally means “jumping spider” but is also known as蝇虎 which means “fly tiger”

the list goes on…

34

omg, “fly tiger” is so cool!
@mira_l_b another tool in the enlightenment of the “nope-ers” !

35

Just as an fyi the “fly” actually refers to Diptera rather than the action (that kinda thickens the mystery a bit), but I’m sure google translate already “explained” that to you ;)

36

yeah, I assumed diptera meaning… as in “hunter of flies”… I watch them on my kitchen windowsill, very much stalking and pouncing… :)

37

ahhh! that makes sense!

38

we’ve always called gulls beach rats

39

Flap-flap or sea pancake for stingrays.

40

I’ve often heard of hippos being called river horses.