Our ancestors were not good birders
There are birds all over the world named after European birds that are not related to them. For example, the American Robin is a thrush and more closely related the European Blackbird. The blackbirds here in the Americas are icterids, a New World family. We in the US call vultures buzzards, but buzzards in Europe are hawks (buteos). In Australia, the Australian Magpie is not a corvid. I'm pretty sure that this type of overgeneralization of common names is found in other fields. Thank goodness scientists keep them straight!
Our ancestors were not good birders
There are birds all over the world named after European birds that are not related to them. For example, the American Robin is a thrush and more closely related the European Blackbird. The blackbirds here in the Americas are icterids, a New World family. We in the US call vultures buzzards, but buzzards in Europe are hawks (buteos). In Australia, the Australian Magpie is not a corvid. I'm pretty sure that this type of overgeneralization of common names is found in other fields. Thank goodness scientists keep them straight!