Spilornis
spy-LOR-nis
Genus
the spotted bird (a snake-eagle)
Literally: spotted bird
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| spil- | spot, stain, blemish | Greek (spilos) | stem spil- from Greek σπίλος |
| -o- | connecting vowel | standard Greek combining vowel | |
| -ornis | bird | Greek (ornis, -ithos) | nominative singular used as a suffix; stem ornith- |
Spilornis is a Greek compound noun used as a genus name, treated as grammatically feminine in Latin (following the convention for bird genera). It combines spil-o- (spotted) with -ornis (bird) in a typical Greek determinative compound: the head noun is ornis ('bird') modified by the root spilo- ('spotted'). The genus was erected by Edward Turner Bennett in 1842 for the crested serpent eagles.
Pronunciation
- spy-LOR-nis Penult rule 5: the penult vowel 'o' is short but followed by two consonants (r + n), so the penult is stressed.
Other readings
A minority reading splits the name as spil- + ornis without a connecting vowel; however, the -o- is the standard Greek connecting vowel and not part of either root.
Spilornis is the genus of crested serpent eagles (family Accipitridae), a group of raptors found across South and Southeast Asia, named for the distinctive spotted plumage many species bear. The terminal element -ornis (from Greek ὄρνις, ὄρνιθος) is extremely common in bird genus names (e.g. Geospiza, Cathарornis). Its stem is ornith-, but in composition the nominative form -ornis is regularly used as a suffix. The dictionary confirmed both 'spil' (spot) and 'ornis' (bird) are present in the dictionary.