Phainopepla

phainopepla Translingual Etymology From mul-tax grc φαίνω shine + grc πέπλος robe. Proper noun 1 f genus family Ptilogonatidae the phainopepla en mul w:Olivia Judson The hemiparasite season [print version: Under the hemiparasite, International New York Times, 24–25 December 2014, page 7] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/opinion/the-hemiparasite-season.html https://web.archive.org/web/20141223181330/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/opinion/the-hemiparasite-season.html 23 December 2014 w:The New York Times 23 December 2014 The stickiness of mistletoe berries persists through the gut, making it hard to defecate mistletoe seeds with any grace. To deal with this, birds like the silky flycatcher, Phainopepla nitens, that are mistletoe specialists, have evolved a "waggle dance" – also known as butt-wiping behavior – where they clean up by rubbing themselves against twigs. Indeed, the association with bird droppings may even be the origin of the word: Some evidence suggests that "mistletoe" comes from Anglo-Saxon for "dung on a twig." References mul Birds