Cercotrichas
ser-KO-tri-kus
Genus
the tail-thrush (a bird with a notably cocked or wagged tail)
Literally: tail thrush
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| cerco- | the tail | Greek (cerc, -o, =us) | combining form cerco- (stem cerc- + connecting vowel -o-) |
| trichas | a thrush | Greek (tricha, -do, =s) | nominative singular form trichas; stem trichad- |
A compound Greek noun formed from the combining form cerco- (tail) + trichas (a thrush), the whole treated as a feminine Latin noun of the third declension in biological nomenclature. The head noun is trichas (thrush); cerco- is a modifier describing its most conspicuous behaviour — the habitual cocking and fanning of the tail. This is a straightforward descriptive genus name with no epithet (the user supplied the genus name only).
Pronunciation
- ser-KO-tri-kus Four syllables: cer-co-tri-chas. Penult 'tri' has a short vowel (i) followed by a single consonant (ch = k) → stress falls on the antepenult 'co'. Antepenult vowel 'o' is followed by two consonants (tr) → short 'o'.
Other readings
A segmentation cerco- (rod/poplar, from cerc, -i, =is) + trichas is theoretically possible but makes no biological sense; the tail reading is unambiguous for a bird genus.
One could read trich-o- (hair) + -as, but trichas as a single dictionary entry meaning 'thrush' is the correct and intended split.
Cercotrichas is the accepted genus name for the scrub-robins and bush-robins (family Muscicapidae). The name alludes to the birds' characteristic habit of cocking and wagging the tail. The stem of trichas is trichad- (hence the genitive trichados), but the nominative form trichas is used directly as the terminal element — a standard practice in compound bird-genus names coined in the 19th century. c before e is pronounced 's', giving the opening 'ser-' sound.