Names -Ornithology.com

Bird groups are organized by scientific classification, based upon their anatomical structure, geographic distribution, behavior, blood proteins, and a variety of other characteristics. Most recently, and probably most accurately, DNA hybridization has determined the relaltionships and supposed evolutionary history of all the bird groups of the world and most of the speciesLearn more below and see Lectures for more detailed information. Links to bird groups and species are on TAXONOMY

Birds, Class Aves, are arranged into groups called Orders (ending in-iformes); these are such groups as the ducks and geese, loons, hawks and eagles, hummingbirds, kingfishers and rollers, herons and egrets, and penguins. The largest group, Passeriformes, is the songbirds. In each order are Families, ending in -idae. In Gruiformes, the Cranes are in Gruidae and Rails in Rallidae. Finally, birds have scientific names, the genus and species, such as Cathartes aura (Turkey Vulture) and the American Robin, Turdus migratorius.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker does not have a red belly and some call goldfinches wild canaries and house finches linnets. The European Buzzard is similar to the North American Red-tailed Hawk. Blue birds are not necessarily bluebirds and all black birds are not necessarily blackbirds. All birds have a scientific name (actually two names) derived primarily from the Latin or Greek. mallard decoy Anas platyrhynchos is the scientific name for the Mallard . Anas, the "genus" is Latin for duck, and indicates that the Mallard is related to other ducks such as the Pintail, Gadwall, and Black Duck. The species name, platyrhynchos, is Greek for flat bill, referring to the typical ducklike bill. (The species name for the Pintail is acuta, referring to the "acute" or pointed tail.) So the genus Anas, being the same for both species, tells us these ducks are related but distinct species with distinct species names. Note that the genus and species are always in italics and that species is both singular and plural. The American Ornithologist's Union has created a standardized checklist of the common English names of American birds, so we can use them. But scientists continue to use scientific names in order to avoid any confusion, to better show avian relationships, and to communicate with colleagues across the world whose common names are in their native languages.

See "Words for Birds" by Edward Gruson, a dated but interesting book published by Quadrangle Books.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System;European Names of Birds in Nine Languages;Obsolete English names of North American Birds; Group Names for Birds; Names of animal congregations;
Bird Name Translation;Babel Birds- bird name translation Birds in Numbers