The curious case of the Norfolk Plover

Latin was not, I’m afraid, one of my stronger subjects at school, but when it comes to Latin bird names I do have a handy book I can consult entitled Birds – their Latin names explained. It was written by A.F.Gotch, a retired teacher (though surprisingly Latin wasn’t one of the subjects he taught), and published in 1981. It has just come in handy for researching the origin of the word Burhinidae,…