Ard

It sounds a bit like Hollywood pirate talk, or perhaps a German television station, but the English suffix “-ard” is responsible for some very interesting bird names. Without it, we’d be bereft of one of my all-time favorites, Mallard.

Generally, the -ard ending denotes excess in the character described in the first element of the word. Thus, a dullard is exceptionally dull, a laggard exceptionally tardy, a drunkard exceptionally tipsy. And Mallards are exceptionally male, as the drakes’ eagerness to mate (better, to copulate) with most things feathered suggests. Indeed, the word was often used–even as late as Newton’s Dictionary of 1893–in reference only to the male of the species and his notorious concupiscence.

Can you come up with another bird name using this suffix? Hint: a couple of what seemed to me obvious ones don’t qualify.