Chemistry is for the Birds: Chemical Names the inspired bird names

By Dwight Chasar

Did you know that the names of some birds often come from chemistry? These compounds and minerals are not responsible for creating bird color but have lent their names, at least in part, to birds of their colors.  The table below gives examples of birds that fit these criteria but many more can be found by going to the link: https://birdsoftheworld.org . Type in the bird name example I have given or the chemical name itself in the appropriate space and see the bird photo that appears.  Even just a partial name of a chemical may show you a number of bird names in the drop down menu.  Just click on one of those bird options and see the photo of the bird.  The list in the table is not meant to be all inclusive.  It might be fun to explore other possibilities.

Element, Chemical, Mineral, Gem	Formula (roughly)	Color	Example of bird name
Gold	Au	yellow	Common Goldeneye
Silver	Ag	white	Silvery Tanager
Sulphur	S	yellow	Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Copper	Cu	copperish	Copper Pheasant
Lead	Pb	gray	Plumbeous Kite
Bronze	Cu, Sn, other elements	bronze	Bronzy Hermit
Coal	C	black	Coal Tit
Slate	SiO4/mica	gray	Bluish-slate Antshrike
Carmine	C24H20O13, Al	red	Carmine Bee-eater
Vermilion	HgS	red	Vermilion Flycatcher
Malachite	Cu2CO3(OH)2	blue	Malachite Kingfisher
Lapis Lazuli	(Na,Ca)8(AlSiO4)6(S,SO4,Cl)1-2	blue	Lazuli bunting
Beryl	Be3Al2Si6O18	green	Berylline Hummingbird
Ruby	α-Al2O3	red	Siberian Rubythroat
Amethyst	Al2O3	violet	Amethyst Brown-Dove
Emerald	Be3Al2Si6O18:Cr+3	green	Emerald-spotted Wood-dove
Topaz	Al2(F,OH)2SiO4	gold/brown	Crimson Topaz
Sapphire	α-Al2O3 +trace metals	blue	Great Sapphirewing
Citrine	SiO2 + trace Fe+3	yellow	Citrine Wagtail
Tourmaline	Al6B3Fe3H10NaO31Si6	various	Tourmaline Sunangel
Azurite	Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2	blue	Azure Jay
Pearl	CaCO3	whiteish	Pearl-spotted Owl
Opal	SiO2 nH2O	various	Opal-crowned Manakin
Indigo	C16H10N2O2	blue	Indigo Bunting