What's In a Critter's Name? 125. Kea

This parrot gets its name from its flight call, 'kee-aa'!

What's In a Critter's Name? 124. Pitta

Pitta is used in the Telugu language (South India) to mean a 'small bird'.

What's In a Critter's Name? 123. Tern

Tern appears to be a contraction of the English word 'stern', used for the Black tern in the 16th Century.

Sweet!

Traditional chocolate is made from cocoa 'beans'. Sugar is added to the ground beans, to make the finished product. Cocoa 'beans' are actually seeds, surrounded by juicy flesh in the pumpkin-like fruit. Swiss scientists have now used this 'waste' flesh, to make a sweet, fibrous gel. This gel can replace traditional chocolate's sugar. The result is a healthier and more sustainable product (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/01/scientists-develop-method-of-making-healthier-more-sustainable-chocolate). The 'new' chocolate is more nutritious than its conventional counterpart. It's, therefore, much less likely to be associated with type 2 diabetes. As it doesn't require sugar (produced by growing Sugar cane or beet), this new product also uses less land and water. This seems a win-win for environmentally-aware chocolate lovers.

What's In a Critter's Name? 122. Lapwing

This bird's name is thought to be derived from an Old English term, meaning 'leap with a flicker in it'. Perhaps, because dense winter flocks appeared to flicker between black and white, as they flapped their wings in unison.

What's In a Critter's Name? 121. Macaque

Macaque derives from the Portuguese 'macaco'. The Portuguese took it from the West African Fiot word '(ma)kaku', simply meaning 'a monkey'.

What's In a Critter's Name? 120. Egret

Egret come from the French 'aigrette' meaning both 'silver heron' and 'brush'. The latter may refer to the long, filamentous feathers down the bird's back, in its breeding season.