I was looking for a stock photo of a robin today. We frequently use stock images to build social media posts and other animations. I found a nice image of a cute little robin but was quite intrigued by its scientific name “Turdus Migratorius.” Is that real or just something some drunk guys added one afternoon at the stock footage site?

You could see how this conversation would flow – a couple red-eyed twenty-somethings, hung-over and bleary-eyed from processing their ten thousandth photo of the weekend.  Their day has so little joy to begin with that they have to make up their fun.

“Hey Bill, what’s the scientific name for the American Robin? It says here we have to add the scientific name of every animal in the library.”

“Hell, no one ever looks at that anyway, just put whatever…”

“OK. Lemme see. Well, birds crap on windshields a lot. Crappus Windshieldicus?  Hah, no…  Not Greek enough.  Birds migrate…  Migratorious.  That sounds scientific.”

“Turdus Migratorious” it is.