A genus of small seabirds known as puffins, named for their resemblance to little monks or friars.
From Latin 'frater' (brother) combined with the diminutive suffix '-cula,' literally meaning 'little brother.' Medieval naturalists thought puffins' coloring resembled a monk's robes and hood.
Puffins were named 'fratercula'—little brothers—because their black and white coloring looks like a friar's habit! Scientists in medieval times saw these birds and thought they looked like little monks, so the name stuck for nearly 1,000 years.
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