Abstract

Ethno-ornithology explores the relationship between birds and people. In Chile, there are few ethno-ornithological works that have explored the etymology of bird names. We conducted an extensive literature review of Mapuche names for birds and their etymologies. Because of the relative importance of onomatopoeias as the origin of Mapuche names for birds, we compared the proportion of onomatopoeic names for different forest-dwelling indigenous peoples of the world. Finally, we evaluated if Mapuche bird names have permeated common names currently used in Chile. We found 220 bird names in Mapuzugun (Mapuche language) for 89 species and the etymology for 141 names. Seventy eight (55%) names had an onomatopoeic origin, 24 (17%) names came from the bird’s aspect, 24 (17%) from bird behavior, 12 (9%) from a symbolic perception generated by the bird and 3 (2%) from the species habitat. From a total of 13 different indigenous peoples examined, only the Mbuti from the Congo presented a higher percentage of onomatopoeic names (67%) in comparison to Mapuche people. Onomatopoeia is the most dominant root for bird names from southern temperate forests and it is pervasive in many locations of the world. We believe that its influence may rest on the fact that it better captures immediacy in the landscape of human-bird encounters, compared to other naming logics. The knowledge about the origin of bird names and how they are present in our daily lives allow a better understanding of different cultural views towards birds and promote a higher respect for biocultural heritage.