Etymology

tityra

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Today it means: A bird of the genus Tityra. Full definition →

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The story

Originally a genus name used for the Black-tailed Tityra, Tityra cayana, of South America, referring to the rustic shepherd character Tityrus in Virgil's Eclogues, in allusion to the noisy, aggressive behaviour of the bird.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.