When do I capitalise animal names?

You meet all sorts of animals on your adventures, from dogs and cats to tigers, birds, snakes and centipedes. They’re generally easy to spell, right? But what about when you get into the details, when you’re writing about Labradors, Main Coons, snow leopards, tūī, and damselflies? 

Generally, animals are lower case: snow leopard, beagle, mayfly. But when part of the animal’s name is a proper noun (like a person’s name or place name), then that part has a capital letter, like Labrador, which is named after the Labrador Peninsula in Canada. 

But as is the way with English, spelling isn’t always that straightforward. Oxford Dictionaries capitalises “Labrador” because it’s named after a place. But it doesn’t capitalise: “chihuahua”, even though that’s also named after a place (the state in Mexico).

And some dictionaries have dropped the proper noun’s capital letter altogether. “Dalmatian” is a good example: Oxford capitalises it, but Merriam-Webster doesn’t. Whichever capitalisation you follow, just be consistent (and note it on your style sheet if you have one!)

Your best starting point is a dictionary. Merriam-Webster is the go-to dictionary for US English, Oxford for UK and NZ English, and Macquarie for Australian English. 

And if you’re talking about a dog called Spot or a tiger called Hobbes, that name is a proper noun, so it’s always capitalised. 

A note on Māori names for birds and animals

If you’re writing about your travels and adventures through Aotearoa New Zealand, then you’ll probably find yourself writing about the wildlife. Many New Zealand animals have both Māori and English names. Getting the spelling right for those Māori names is important.

The best dictionary for te reo Māori spelling is Te Aka Māori Dictionary. It will show you whether words need macrons, or tohutō, as they’re called in te reo. That’s the little horizontal line above the “a” in “Māori”.

Using (or not using) tohutō is essential because leaving them in or out can change the meaning of a word, and they tell you how the word is pronounced. For example:

• tūī is the bird. 
• tui means to sew or thread. 

Also, the Māori names for birds don’t need an “s” on the end to make them plural. If you’re talking about more than one tūī, the spelling is still “tūī”. 

✔️: Four tūī flew around the trees.

❌: Four tūīs flew around the trees.

The Department of Conservation also has an A to Z of popular New Zealand birds with both English and Māori spelling. 

And if you’re getting more technical with your animal names, here’s a guide to writing scientific names: How to write scientific names for animals, plants, and fungi.

Wrapping up

Getting these details right will show your readers that you know what you’re talking about, and that will help them stay hooked on your adventure. 

Not sure what that white bird is at the top of the article? It’s a kōtuku or white heron. I took this photo near Glenorchy, New Zealand.

References

New Hart’s Rules: 14.2.1

Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed.: 8.129, 8.130

Oxford Dictionaries

Merriam-Webster

Te Aka Māori Dictionary

Department of Conservation: Birds A-Z