Nidification: noun; [zoology] nest-building; origin: mid 17th century from Latin nidificat– ‘made into a nest’ (from the verb nidificare, from nidus ‘nest’) + -ation (Oxford Dictionary).
This might not be the time of year for nest-building for most critters (though I did spot a Magpie poking a stick into what looked like a potential nest site yesterday) but it is the time of year, with the trees bare of leaves, when you can see some of our birds’ nest-building efforts from earlier this year, and previous years, if they’re birds that keep the same nest site year after year. And I only just learnt this new word this week so thought I’d pass it on.
Senecio squalidus (Oxford ragwort) translates as ‘dirty old man’ and Primula vulgaris (Primrose) is ‘first common girl’. There are names derived from fiction: Yoda purpurata, a genus of deep-sea acorn worms, is so named because the large lips on the sides of its head are reminiscent of Yoda’s ears; and, under the influence of the Harry Potter books, a dragon-like dinosaur is named Dracorex hogwartsia, dragon king of Hogwarts. There’s a midge named after a rock band: Dicrotendipes thanatogratus translates to Grateful Dead; and a land snail named after Australian zookeeper and conservationist Steven Irwin: Crikey steveirwini. There are carabid beetles named Agra vate and Agra vation (say them out loud), and there’s a horsefly with ‘a perfectly round and golden rear end’ called Scaptia beyonceae. Enough … check out the book for more.
earthstar 
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