Why are BIRDEATERS Called Birdeaters?

[PhilMcWonder]

I was told they don't actually eat birds.
Well... Not unless the bird does something particularly hazardous to it's own health...
But there are several Ts that carry the "Birdeater" name. How did they get it?

 

[BoyFromLA]

Just like bird eater tarantulas, I am sure bald eagles got their name with similar weird reasons, and yes they’re not bald.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

The funny thing is that, historically, as a common term, 'birdeater' was mostly used for Theraphosa species (later, given by an helluva of people to more or less every bulky terrestrial T's) but very few were aware that Avicularia means literally, in Latin, 'bird eater'

 

[BoyFromLA]

The funny thing is that, historically, as a common term, 'birdeater' was mostly used for Theraphosa species (later, given by an helluva of people to more or less every bulky terrestrial T's) but very few were aware that Avicularia means literally, in Latin, 'bird eater'

Yay, learning new things everyday.

 

[Theneil]

i believe there was a lady explorer (sorry don't remember the name) who crossed the pod to america a very long time ago (sorry don't remember the date) and she witnesed an Avicularia avicularia(i believe) eating a humming bird.

Sorry i suck at history... i think the lady may have actually described the species but not 100% on that (not even 60% to be honest)

 

[cold blood]

i believe there was a lady explorer (sorry don't remember the name) who crossed the pod to america a very long time ago (sorry don't remember the date) and she witnesed an Avicularia avicularia(i believe) eating a humming bird.

Sorry i suck at history... i think the lady may have actually described the species but not 100% on that (not even 60% to be honest)

Avicularia means bird eater...from that original description and painting.

In the hobby, the term simply means, south american terrestrial that gets over 5". Its used because people think it sounds cool and it sells ts....the term refers to possibly 100 or more species, so its a very non specific/descriptive term.

 

[Thekla]

i believe there was a lady explorer (sorry don't remember the name) who crossed the pod to america a very long time ago (sorry don't remember the date) and she witnesed an Avicularia avicularia(i believe) eating a humming bird.

Sorry i suck at history... i think the lady may have actually described the species but not 100% on that (not even 60% to be honest)

The lady explorer in question was Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) and she was the one who drew that famous picture of a tarantula supposedly eating a hummingbird. Since the 2017 revision of the Avicularia genus, there's an Avicularia species named after her: A. merianae

A. merianae

• Thekla
• Oct 15, 2018
• avicularia avicularia merianae juvenile male merianae

My (possibly male) A. merianae just before rehousing.

This is my juvenile male.

 

[EulersK]

And another reason... literally translated from German:

Vogelspinnen = Bird Spider

 

[Theneil]

The lady explorer in question was Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) and she was the one who drew that famous picture of a tarantula supposedly eating a hummingbird. Since the 2017 revision of the Avicularia genus, there's an Avicularia species named after her: A. merianae

A. merianae

• Thekla
• Oct 15, 2018
• avicularia avicularia merianae juvenile male merianae

My (possibly male) A. merianae just before rehousing.

This is my juvenile male.

Yes! Thank you for elaborating. I am terrible with the names and dates of history. LOL

 

[PhilMcWonder]

Okay... so its called a BIRDEATER because its big and it COULD eat a bird... If it wanted to... I guess...
And the name originated because some lady came into the land and went "Cool spider breh, Imma draw that" And then Bob Rossed a happy little bird into the picture... only the bird wasn't happy.

 

[Theneil]

Okay... so its called a BIRDEATER because its big and it COULD eat a bird... If it wanted to... I guess...
And the name originated because some lady came into the land and went "Cool spider breh, Imma draw that" And then Bob Rossed a happy little bird into the picture... only the bird wasn't happy.

Something like that...

 

[Katiekooleyes]

Maybe they just have a thing for chicken Mcnuggets!

 

[Dennis Nedry]

To be honest they really don’t deserve the name, Nephila sp would fit it better

 

[SonsofArachne]

I wouldn't be surprised if arboreal T's on rare occasions catch birds, especially nestlings or fledglings, which are often clumsy while learning to fly. But obviously not enough to call any T "birdeater".

 

[Greasylake]

People call them birdeaters because they can't be bothered to learn the Latin names.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Another reason you see spiders labeled as "birdeater" especially in LPS, is because the name sells.

 

[weibkreux]

The bird-eater label suits arboreal Ts more since they spend their time on trees, terrestrials should be mouse-eaters. Lmao

 

[TownesVanZandt]

And another reason... literally translated from German:

Vogelspinnen = Bird Spider

A lot of Germanic languages calls them "bird spiders". In Norwegian and Danish for example it is fugleedderkopper which means just that. In everyday speech a lot of people here will refer to Theraphosidae as taranteller (probably as a result of English influence) but the word tarantell refers to the Lycosa tarantula, a wolf spider found in southern Europe.

 

[EulersK]

fugleedderkopper

Interesting. Do you know what this would literally translate to? It looks like a conjunction of "Fugleed der kopper" but that turns up nothing in Google translate.

A bit off topic, I admit, but I find European languages fascinating

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Interesting. Do you know what this would literally translate to? It looks like a conjunction of "Fugleed der kopper" but that turns up nothing in Google translate.

A bit off topic, I admit, but I find European languages fascinating

Yes, "bird spiders" . Fugl means "bird" and edderkopp/edderkop (Norwegian and Danish spelling) means "spider". The suffix -er is just the plural form.

Edit: The additional -e- in the middle is just there because the word fugl ends with a consonant.

In Norwegian we make compound words where English would use two or more words so (in theory) there is no limit to how long they can get. The longest word to have been used in meaningful way is minoritetsladningsbærerdiffusjonskoeffisientmålingsapparatur which would translate into something like "apparatus for determining minority carrier diffusion"